LITTLE BIG TRUCK; A midsize hauler with full-size aspirations.(News)(Product/Service Evaluation)

Byline: MIKE FLOYD

This truck has definitely been working out.

After pumping some serious iron with Ram, Durango and its other Dodge big brothers, the 2005 Dakota has become a chiseled, muscular brute of a truck, flexing not one but two V8s, and unrivaled towing capacity for its class.

Just in time, too, because with new and more powerful offerings from Toyota (Tacoma) and Nissan (Frontier) looming, and stiff competition already from GM's Canyon/Colorado combo, Dakota is going to need all its newfound strength to thrive in the midsize truck segment when it debuts this fall.

The Dodge boys have been cramming V8 power into Dakota for more than a decade now, and the truck continues to stand alone as the only midsizer with an eight-cylinder option.

For 2005 two 4.7-liter V8s are available. The standard output block pumps out 230 hp at 4600 rpm and delivers 290 lb-ft of class-leading torque at 3600 rpm. The High Output option dynos at 250-plus hp and more than 300 lb-ft of torque.

Dakota's base engine is a slightly reworked, carryover 3.7-liter V6 that manages 210 hp at 5200 rpm and 235 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm. It comes with an all-new Getrag six-speed manual, also the standard transmission for the base 4.7-liter. A four-speed automatic is available for the V6 while the 4.7-liter gets an all-new five-speed automatic as an option; this five-speed is the only tranny available for the High Output block.