Pat Buthmann wrote:
>
> Sounds similar to me. When I decided that my Jeep YJ had nearly run the
>course of its life, I figured it was time for another pickup. But in the
>city, a full-size is rather inconvenient (especially with Club-Cab), so
>compact it was. The Chevy S-10 SUCKS (no power, and I figure they were
>built for women to drive), no offence to any Chevy owners, but it's true.
>They also have the worst sounding exhaust of any truck (4 banger, V6,
>whatever the engine) I have ever heard. Anyhow, it became a choice between
>the Dakota (damn good looking truck too) and the Ford/Mazda Ranger/B4000
>Pickup. After driving both, sitting in both, and pricing out both, the
>Dakota just gave you more truck for the same money. Especially when you
>add up the extras you need to make the Ford/Mazda similarly comfortable
>to the Dodge. The Ranger NEEDS tilt steering to get into, you have to
>get the bucket seats to get the centre console etc. With the Dakota,
>jump right in and everything was just in the perfect place. And with
>the 40/20/40 split bench, you get the centre console built into the middle
>seat. And with a 5.2L V8 (230 HP) compared to a 160 HP V6 in the Ranger,
>more power, and the price of the two trucks was nearly (less than $500)
>identical. Frankly, I don't know why more people don't drive the Dakota.
>Big difference in performance too.
I think you hit the nail right on the head. With the Ranger, my brother
had always had one, and he now has a Splash with the 4.0V6. I knew I
would want a V6 Ranger, just didn't know when.
The Dakota actually took me by surprise. I went to drive one and fell
in love. Everything, like you said, "just fit". I felt right at home
in the cabin and decided I had to have one. I didn't even look at
anything
else (although the salesman convinced me to drive a full-size Chevy just
because I told him they were crap - this dealership is the largest Chevy
truck dealer in the US, so I don't blame him for trying to sell me one!)
I didn't even drive the V6 Dakota. I would imagine that now having
owned a V8 for a week that I'd be disappointed.
Well, more of my $.02...............
Phil
'97 Dakota
'67 Charger
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