We have a 98 Ranger with the 4.0 engine and auto o/d. No problem to pull a 65 Mustang on a car trailer at hiway speeds. Power is not a problem.

I owned a 2000 Dodge Dakota with a 4.7 and a 1997 Dakota with a 5.9 the 4.7 is much quicker and more powerful thatn the 5.9. Tru the gas mileage is not the best in a dodge 4.7. I now own a 4.0 Ranger and a 5.7 Hemi the 4.0 has plenty of power to do what your want to do with it and better gas mileage.

I have a ford ranger and while ive never owned a dakota id never buy another dodge product. I have a dodge caravan i bought second hand that has been nothing but a problem... its one of four caravans i have owned over the last ten years and frankly one has been worse than the next. the warrantys are useless as i drive more rentals than the van. i dont mean to sound like im flaming dodge here but i can document everything i say here. Go with the Ford way more reliable and mine has 85K on it

Dakota: all the disadvantages of a small truck (about the same head and leg room as a Ranger), combined with all the disadvantages of a large truck (lousy gas mileage). This is one truck that has never made any sense to me.

1956MarkII,

I agree and it looks like Toyota is doing the same thing with the Tacoma. I guess they don't believe we need small trucks anymore.

I drive a 03 ranger fx4 everyday and i love it. When i get on it the power is pretty good, not enough to squeal the tires but a definate kick in the butt. I have the 4.0 supercab 5 speed auto fx4 package and I get almost 17 mpg, but thats with just 5500 on the ticker. Off roads pretty good as well.

I'm a big fan of crash test results. If you look at iihs.org, you'll see that the Dakota is rated 'P' for poor.

I have the 03 XLT FX/4 Level 2 ranger with the 4.0 and I get 17 or better on the highway when I am not going like 80 mph! I love it and I can squeal my tires, sorry dave76 but i can! But all I know is that everyone I have every talked too have always said go ford or chevy because dodge pretty much isn't good from truck stand point! I love my ranger, has plenty of get up and go, good gas mileage, nice to look at, enough power, and who wouldn't want that!

Actually you have no idea with you are talking about. Dodge didn't put the 5.9 aka 360 into the Dakota until 1998 in the R/T. If you had a 1997 Dakota with a V8 the only motor you could have would have been the 5.2 aka 318. Plus the 5.9 is more powerful then the 4.7....5.9 has 250 bhp...345 ft. lbs. of torque. The 4.7 has 235bhp and 290ft. lbs. of torque. The 4.7 is rated at 16 mpg. My fathers 2001 Ranger 4X4 Edge only gets 16-17 mpg.

Whats the Ford rated.........

The 4.7 gets just about the same MPG as a 4.0 Ford......Plus its a lot quicker.

I personally went with the 5.9....I can care less about MPG.

Here is my advice. Go and test drive both before you make you choice. I've owned 4 Dakota's. My father has a 2001 Ranger 4x4 edge with teh 4.0...I hate driving it.

You are joking, right? My buddy's new 4.7L gets such horrible mileage that he took it back to the dealer because he thought there was something wrong with it. They said "nope, that's normal". My 4.0L turned 19.6 mpg on the last tank. You could turn the Dakota off and coast downhill and you'd never get that kind of mileage. And with a simple computer chip, the Ranger will make identical power to the 4.7L Dakota too. You guys can have your V8s...I'm through with them.

A simple chip huh....I'm sorry but a simple chip will not get you an extra 30 bhp.

I know thats what the company says but everyone knows that a chip might get you about 10 bhp. Plus it wont even come close in torque. The 4.7 will get about 16mpg which isn't bad. My 5.9 gets 14.3 and the Supercharged 408 gets close to the same. If your going to bitch about MPG maybe you should by a 4-cyl. but everyone knows there is NO replacement for displacement. A stock 4.7 Dakota reg. cab 5-speed will run around 15.0 @ 90 mph in the 1/4 mile.....lets see your 4.0 V6 with a chip do that.....your looking at high 16s best. If you want we can line our trucks up and see if your really making V8 power.

Tacoma and Ranger/ B-Series were rated highest with an "acceptable" rating.