All-New 2000 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab Wins Sport Truck of the Year Competition
17 January 2000
All-New 2000 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab Wins Sport Truck of the Year Competition AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Jan. 14 -- The all-new 2000 Dodge Dakota
Quad Cab(TM) continues to gather acclaim even as the first models are rolling
into dealerships.
The editors of Sport Truck magazine have named Dodge's new four-door
compact pickup "Sport Truck of the Year," calling it the best pickup you can
buy.
"With ample seating for six and a 4.7-liter Magnum V-8, the Dakota Quad
Cab practically whaled on the competition -- on even the supercharged
competition," writes Sport Truck Technical Editor Rick Amado. "It's fast,
fun, powerful and comfortable and looks great. It's any sport truck lover's
dream come true."
Sport Truck's award is the second one that the new Dodge Dakota Quad Cab
has received from Petersen Publishing's family of enthusiast magazines.
Petersen's Four Wheeler magazine named the Dakota Quad Cab "Pickup Truck of
the Year" in its January issue.
"When you consider the sport truck market, it's quite an honor and
distinction to be acknowledged as the best of the best by Sport Truck
magazine," said Jim Julow, Vice President, Dodge Division. "But the
combination of the two awards -- recognizing both the Quad Cab's off-road
abilities and its on-road performance -- strongly affirm our message of
versatility. If you had to pick one vehicle that is capable of doing it all,
the Dodge Dakota Quad Cab is your logical choice."
Sport Truck's testers went on to say: "As the only compact truck to offer
a V-8 engine, the Dakota leaves the competition in the dust. The Quad Cab
kept up with its fiercest competition and left most of it behind by virtue of
its excellent handling characteristics and superior performance. An all-
around performer that's built well and looks great, the Dakota Quad Cab has
just made it to the top of all our Sport Truck wish lists."
Dodge Dakota is already the largest and widest truck in its class.
However, the 2000 Dakota Quad Cab creates a whole new segment in the compact
class with a reproportioned cab and cargo box.
The Quad Cab's passenger compartment is engineered to incorporate full-
size, front-hinged rear doors that open wide, along with rear seats that
comfortably accommodate three adults.
With three-across seating available in the front, Quad Cab is the only
compact truck with six passenger seating. Split-folding rear seat cushions
easily fold up with one hand to make room for cargo, people or a combination
of both.
The pickup bed has been re-sized, yet still delivers the best payload-
carrying capacity of any compact domestic pickup. It has the largest bed of
all compact four-door trucks at five feet, three inches long.
With the only V-8 engines available in the compact truck segment -- a
choice of 235 horsepower 4.7-liter Magnum V-8 or 245 horsepower 5.9-liter
Magnum V-8 -- Dakota Quad Cab has more power to tow heavy loads than any other
compact four-door.
Sport Truck's competition is limited entirely to new, two-wheel-drive
trucks for the 2000 model year.
Sport Truck stages its testing in two parts and grades each truck in
several categories, including performance, ride comfort, empirical values and
build quality.
In the first part, a day is spent performance testing at the Los Angeles
County Raceway in Palmdale, Calif. With the help of professional test driver
John Hotchkis of Hotchkis Performance. Sport Truck's Sport Truck of the Year
entries are tested for quarter-mile acceleration, 60-0 mph braking, slalom and
skid pad.
In the second part, Sport Truck's editors spend three days of highway
driving covering more than 1,000 miles including rush-hour freeways, smooth
stretches of desert highway, twisting mountain two-lanes, and dusty gravel
roads. Elevations range from sea level to almost 10,000 feet.
Editors evaluated each truck on a scale of 1 to 10 in almost 30 different
design and performance categories ranging from ease of entry, sound system
quality, interior noise, body panel alignment, paint quality, cargo
practicality and many other categories.
After the overall testing is completed, each truck is ranked specifically
for mechanical (15 percent), interior (15), exterior (15) and ride and drive
quality (30). Empirical testing data made up the final 25 percent. Dodge
Dakota Quad Cab won three out of the five categories and finished no lower
than second in the others.
