A pretty decent truck, if you get a pretty decent deal..

Let me start by saying that I have owned a 2006 Dodge Dakota, ST 4x2 6-speed manual for about 27 months now. I feel that at around the two year mark, you can write an accurate review for two reasons; 1. The writer's judgment is no longer slued by the excitement of owning the new vehicle, and 2. The truck is a few years old, the time when most new car buyers are still in there car, and the time most used car buyers are buying the car.

Lets start off with the Pro's of the truck. The 06 Dodge Dakota is bigger then most "mid-size" trucks on the market. If you were to take a test drive, you can easily see that the truck is borderline "full-size". If you have the extended cab model, with 2 doors, you will see that the truck has the biggest bed in its class. If you have the 4-door model, you will see interior room is by far the largest. All around this truck is the biggest you can find in the mid-size segment.

Another Pro of this truck is that the body is constructed with 20% thicker sheet metal then the previous generation, and have 20% thicker sheet metal then its competition. Its easy to feel too. Press firmly upon a fender, door pannel, or any other part of the truck and you will find little to no flex, and can feel that the claim is true. The body construction does not seem cut corner at all. The entire frame and under body has been coated in the black wax they use to protect the frame from the elements, and remains in-tact to this day. (Although i have seen models that don't have it at all, maybe depends on the factory it was born in?) The truck has plastic wheel wells in the rear truck wheel wells. This may seem silly, but nearly ALL of todays pickup trucks skimp on this! Go look at some new trucks and you will see that there is no rear wheel well plastic, and you can see right to the rear quarter panel. What does this spell? A place for dirt and salt to sit, causing rust much much faster.

Moving along with the Pro's the quality of the interior does not disapoint either. I found the interior to be nicely designed, easy to access climate controls, radio right in the middle, clear white gauges that light up a soft blue at night, and lots of room for my legs and head. (I am 6'00" tall). I have the extended cab model, with 2 doors, and 2 suicide half doors. These swing out suicide doors come standard. The two pilot seats are comfortable, but have some downers (I will get to that in the Cons below). The extended cab section has plenty of room, and I fit my tools back there with ease.

The last pro I will mention will be mechanical and reliability (although there is a con section as well). For the most part the 2006 Dodge Dakota has been reliable. I have the V6 3.7L and at 28,000 miles I have had to do nothing as far as maintenance. This is no great feat however. I expect to Never have to do any repair work at 28,000 miles, regardless of any make or model. The transmission is a 6-spd manual, it has been smooth since day one, to now. No creaks, squeaks or groans. The cab is solid and quiet. Brakes are very good, it stops on a dime, at 27,000 miles they had 50% wear left. Overall reliability is good.

Now sadly, to the cons of this vehicle. I am happy to report, there are no cons with the vehicle exterior construction AT ALL. No corners cut that I can find. What I have described above within the pros of the exterior I hold true too. However, the interior has one large flaw. The seats for the 06 year are not treated properly, and stain from EVERYTHING and ANYTHING. Rain water will stain it, sweat, forget any kind of juice or food. Dodge has addressed this in 07 with specially treated seats. But for 05 and 06, get some seat covers.

Moving on with the cons to mechanical issues. The truck has been serviced a few times in its short life thus far, but overall, not an alarming amount of repairs have been done. The first issue came at 10,000 miles, the truck would not start, even when the clutch petal was down. It was like I was not turning the key at all, no cranking, nothing. It seemed like the clutch safety was malfunctioning. I took it in, it was an ECU malfunction. They replaced the ECU, and the issue was gone for good. Not a big deal, but a con. Next, at 24,000 miles, my steering shaft went. When turning the wheel the truck would moan and groan, and the steering wheel seemed to have this spot where i could feel a "hump" in the play of the wheel. I took it in and they replaced the steering shaft in the column without question. They explained that if it is not lubed right from the factory, this will happen, and a full replacement is the only solution. Fair enough. They replaced it and the issue is resolved. I was under warranty at the time, but If i was not, it would have been a very expensive repair.

And the last of the cons fall under simple expectations the Dakota failed to meet. The gas mileage is not what the stickers claims. The sticker claims 16 city, 20 highway. I dont think I even squeeze 16 out of her on mixed driving. The V6 is rather underpowered. I mean in the form of acceleration. It's a rather slow truck. However, under max payload, you can hardly tell your hauling anything. Handling is not so great. It feels like your driving an old Caddy. When hitting any small bump at high speed, the truck rocks like a boat for what seems like a long time. Cornering could be a bit better as well.

In conclusion, the truck was rather a good investment. I feel pretty satisfied at this point in the trucks life that it will be rather reliable and comfortable for many years to come. Let me finish by saying I paid a hair over $17,000 US for the truck. I see some of these trucks priced at $30,000 US however. Granted these are loaded models. But, this truck is NOT WORTH that much money. A Dodge Ram can be had well equipt with 4 doors and 4x4 for around $26,000 US. So make sure you weigh all your options. This truck can come with a full size price tag if your not careful.