- pickup 164,107
- 2,998 below average
- 2,450 great
- Plainfield, NJ
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- autoshopper.com
- 2,998 below average pickup 164,107 gasoline blue manual
2002 dodge dakota review this car review is specific to this model, not the actual vehicle for sale. Dodge strategically promotes the dakota as the biggest, most powerful, most capable compact pickup on the market. Or as shakespeare might have put it: a dakota by any other name would be precisely the same size. While some competitive extended cabs feature short auxiliary doors behind the main doors, the dakota club cab comes with two doors only. regular and club cabs are offered in three trim levels: base, sport and slt. Base regular cab 2wd retails for $14,810; sport regular cab 2wd goes for $15,855; and slt regular cab sells for $16,415. Sport adds better seats and interior trim and upgrades to the exterior. Slt comes with v6 power, gray fascias, and bright bumpers and grille. Quad cabs start at the sport level, powered by the v6. the new sxt model, available only with a regular or club cab, adds 16-inch alloy wheels, a rear stabilizer bar, cloth bucket seats, carpeting, and special graphite metallic exterior trim. A 120-horsepower, 2. 5-liter inline-4 is standard on regular and club cabs in base or sport trim. Slt's and all quad cabs come with a 175-horsepower 3. 9-liter v6. Rounding out the option list are a 235-horsepower 4. 7-liter v8, and a 5. 9-liter v8 that produces 245 or 250 horsepower, depending on model. Manual transmissions are offered with all but the 5. 9. The other is a full-time system that emphasizes all-weather traction. the r/t group adds $2,190 to the cost of a regular or club cab, and features a high-performance version of the 5. 9-liter v8. R/t's also pack aggressive (255/55r17) blackwall tires on 17-inch aluminum wheels, heavy-duty stabilizer bars, a lowered (by one inch) handling-oriented suspension, limited-slip rear differential, bucket seats, a floor console, fog lights, special trim and a long list of convenience items. walkarounddakota shares its freightliner styling with the full-size dodge ram. Bold lines give it a big, burly look, like it's ready to take on anything that comes its way. regular and club cabs have a 6-foot 6-inch bed, a good size for a compact truck. The quad cab, on the other hand, has a 5-foot 3-inch bed. According to dodge, people seldom need the full length of the longer bed. Those who need more cargo space can consider an optional bed extender, an aluminum cage that flips over the lowered tailgate to extend the bed by 18 inches. Sometimes the bed extender works great, but a lowered tailgate with a mesh opening won't hold dirt back like longer bed with a solid tailgate. The instrument panel was made easier to reach and easier to use, and almost all of the switchgear was changed. A notable example is the rotary dial for the electrically controlled transfer case, replacing the lever used previously. Door trim and carpeting were updated, as were the center and overhead consoles. Leather became an option on quad cabs, where it costs an extra $580 in 2002. A three-channel home security transceiver joins the option list. visibility from inside the dakota quad cab is outstanding. The driver sits high and there are no obvious blind spots. Optional 6x9-inch mirrors improve visibility rearward. The quad cab is roomy and comfortable. The wide console works well as a storage area for miscellaneous junk, but it gets in the way when fastening seat belts. A pullout cup holder at the foot of the center section is a nice touch. The driver and front seat passenger had tons of legroom. the rear doors open wide - about 37 inches. Getting in and out of the rear seat is aided by the fact that there is no cutout for the rear wheels (like there is in many sport-utilities). But a lack of clearance for heads and feet make getting out a bit more difficult than it should be. the rear seating area in the dakota quad cab is roomier than that of any other compact truck. But that only makes it the best of a bad lot, and legroom, particularly, is limited. There's good knee room, and plenty of headroom, but not a lot of foot space, so don't plan on stretching out. As in most of the smaller ``crew cab' pickups, the rear seat back is bolt upright and not very comfortable. Children and smaller adults should be happy enough back there, but taller folk will find the space confining. It also featured a trip computer and odometer that reports fuel economy and fuel tank range. We hit one particularly sandy section and switched easily into 4wd without dropping speed. Later, on a steep hill, we switched into 4wd-low and easily walked up a good 15 degree grade. only on washboard stretches of hard-packed dirt roads did the back end tend to lose its grip at speed - and even then only in two-wheel-drive mode. That's a fault common to most unloaded pickups. We were impressed with the quad cab's turning radius. For a truck its length, it makes relatively tight turns. the brakes deliver straight and true stopping power. This transmission was designed in tandem with the 4. 7-liter engine and they are precisely calibrated to each other, with an onboard computer continuously adjusting the shift pattern to match the way the truck is driven. A 3. 0:1 low ratio provides plenty of leverage to get rolling, followed by a shift up into a torquy 1. 67:1 second. But a kickdown from direct-drive third engages a higher-speed second ratio of 1. 50:1, which dodge says is better for passing. Along with the hauling capability of the bed, it's almost like having two vehicles in one. if yo. Anti-lock Brakes✔ Bucket Seats✔ AM/FM✔ Aluminum Wheels✔ Alloy Wheels
2,450 Plainfield, NJPlainfield, NJ at autoshopper.com