The transmission has perfectly spaced ratios for trucking, and worked without complaint, roughness or harshness, even in high-rpm full-throttle upshifts. With only two occupants and no load, it really scoots from the stoplight despite the nearly 4800 pound weight of the Quad Cab 4X4. For towing, there's a Tow/Haul setting that alters the shift pattern of the automatic transmission.
The new rack-and-pinion power steering is a bit over-assisted for our tastes but will probably be okay for most customers. The chunky steering wheel feels great in the hands. The truck tracks extremely well, responds quickly to inputs, and stays hunkered down during mountain road playtime. Its 265/70R16 BFGoodrich Wrangler tires were both grippy in corners and very quiet at highway speeds, adding a measure of plushness to the ride quality that we really appreciated. We'd rate the ride and handling very high, though like all pickup trucks, it can get a bit choppy over small, high-intensity bumps and ruts.
The Dakota offers only rear-wheel anti-lock brakes as standard safety equipment, but four-wheel ABS disc/drum brakes are optional. We deliberately tried the rear ABS on a straight, flat, dry road for several maximum-g stops with no load and no passengers, and it worked very well, keeping the unladen, light-in-the-rear pickup straight and coming to crisp stops four times in a row without locking the rear wheels. Next Page