New Rival: RAM DAKOTA midsize pickup revealed

[superj]

the front is not good looking on that truck, which is unfortunate because i imagine it will come with the 2.0t and the v6 option, depending on trim level. the 2.0t and that 8 speed is an awesome combination, my wife has it in her wrangler, and i love it.

one of the reasons i got my ranger is that i couldn't get the 2.0t/8 speed in a truck.

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[Lion77]

I too love diesels. I have had several over the years. They are easier to maintain and cheaper if you do the work yourself. Keep clean fuel, oil, and air they run forever. They not only get way better mpg’s they have way more torque. Like you said, for towing you can’t beat them. We agree. You are also correct about emissions with US diesels. The new diesels need to be driven at least 7500 miles every 3 months. When I didn’t drive my diesel enough the DEF fluid would go bad and cause emission problems. The pre 2015 diesels could have DEF systems remover and instantly got 15-20% fuel mileage.
The point that evidently I failed to make was that they won’t compete with RR. The RR is an entry level performance truck that most people can afford to drive. I love driving mine and it didn’t cost a $100K+ to buy. The new Dakota might compete with a regular Ranger, but it’s still a Dodge and will probably sticker for an extra $10K. So will it be a rival and compete with the Ranger? I’ve owned lots of 3/4t Fords and Chevys , but only 1 Dodge. Cheers!

Diesels aren't very sporty though because of low power output. Low end torque just means power down low. Power is based on the number and magnitude of torque pulses over a given length of time (in the case engines, 1 minute). For a work truck, the longevity and efficiency override the need for power, diesels make sense in work vehicle applications.

For performance vehicles, there's a reason you don't see any diesel-powered super cars, NASCARS, Formula 1 cars, Pre-runner Baja Trucks or the fastest cars in the world, Top Fuel dragsters that run a 1/4 mile in 4 seconds (~8,000 HP). They all run on some form of gasoline or in the case of top-fuel, nitromethane which is even more explosive that gasoline.

A stock 2.7LL TT V6 in the Ranger makes 100lb-ft more torque than the turbo 4 in the Ram Dakota and over 100 HP more. Even the 2.3L Ecoboost makes 70HP more and within a few lb-ft of the same torque as a similar displacement diesel.

I think gas engines have come a long way and due to the regulatory overreach, diesel engines particulate systems have really destroyed their reliability and economy, making them harder to justify. Aside from that issue, they still produce limited power output and not really any more torque than FI gas counterparts now.

 

[HighDesertRanger]

I have more confidence in buying the Ranger.

I would not give my money to Stellantis

All of this!

Plus I can find no indication this is actually coming to North America, at least any time soon.

 

[Lion77]

Just for reference, the 2.3L EB makes 270 hp / 310 lb-ft torque. You're not going to notice 20 lb-ft torque difference when comparing 310 to 330 (Ram Dakota Diesel vs. 2.3L EB gas in Ranger).

But you WILL notice 70 HP! Several people with XLT rangers are seeing high 20's and even hitting 30 mpg on the 2.3's. The 2.3's also are now dual injection, but even the older DI one's are pretty trouble free with proper maintenance.

I think the diesel options make sense in countries where diesel is cheaper and more plentiful than gas and that's the primary reason. Recall that the diesel in the gen 1 Ranger Raptor that the rest of the world got wasn't exactly fast, not even close to the Gen 2's (even the de-tuned ones).

It didn't even make as much power as a 2.3L EB gas engine (60 hp less!).

Ford EcoBlue engine - Wikipedia

bi-turbo Ecodiesel in the Gen 1 raptor was 210 hp / 369 lb-ft. Fine for towing but SLOW for acceleration.

 

[cc1999]

I feel ya, I came from a 2014 F150 Supercab Raptor to the RR. As much as I want the Raptor R, it's just too big, maybe if it had the shorter supercab. Shame they remove the supercab option, it's much sportier.

Yea, I had a 2010 1st gen Raptor Super cab with 6.2L V8.
I really did like that size better than the TRX with the full crew cab.
It was just as wide, but that shorter wheelbase gave it an incredibly tight turning radius.

 

[Onceaneagle]

I have been following this RAM Dakota development for a while now, along with the Brazilian RAM Rampage. The typical excitement and speculation from the various online truck experts and influencers about the build from the frame on up had the truck coming out in NA in 2025, then 2026, then 2027, and now 2028. Maybe I will live that long, maybe not.

Don't know how the Supreme Dealer Jim Farley will react to this future RAM, but it probably will not make a whole lot of sense to many of us traditional truck buyers, given all the things we wanted to see in a Ranger that is available elsewhere in the world but did not materialize in the NA market in MY 2026. In some cases, MY2026 is a shuffling of what was once standard into options that you can pay more money for, or what is now available at a different trim for you to pay money for, all to save Ford money. Ford has to pay for endless recalls on their dime and $4 billion invested in EV and PHEV. Remember when Velocity Blue was free? In some cases, per Tim's excellent Ranger video from Long-McArthur Ford, many things were deleted, like leather in exchange for vinyl in a supposed luxury Lariat. You now pay more for less. Why not keep it and just call it "Corinthian leather" even though it came from New Jersey? Ah, because Ricardo Montalban is dead.

Just me but I sense that Farley views the Ranger as a required placeholder, something he has to offer to snag some of the mid-size truck market, but he really does not want to invest a whole lot in it. Four trim levels and one cab configuration is not a Ford investment, it is a Ford convenience.

2026: Five trim levels on Maverick. Tremor and Lobo on Maverick. Orange Fury on Maverick. No Red on a Ranger Raptor. No Lobo. No Tremor.

Ranger has its own following like Goldilocks's porridge for some of us: not too hot, not too cold, but just right. Unfortunately, CEO Farley, just like his being on Harley Davidson's board, does not listen to his customers very well, and MY 2026 shows it.

If RAM does the Dakota correctly, I think Ford's mid-size market is going to get walloped.

 

[White willy]

I’ve owned 6 Dakota over the years,and absolutely loved them,but with Stellantis and the shitshow it is,I am done with them.
I can pretty much guarantee there will be little to no aftermarket support for them,especially depending on on the running gear etc they use.
Who knows,maybe they will surprise me,but i doubt it….

 

[Scooter]

Yes, the Dokota's before Stellantis were a reliable truck, although not overly complicated.
I tried to buy my Ranger with not too much electronics. Not as basic as XL but close with XLT.

 

[james1108]

Emissions. More to the point, no one wants a diesel in the US that has US required diesel emissions equipment in any vehicle unless nothing else will do.

I love diesels. I don't want a US spec diesel. If I regularly had to do heavy towing, I'd get a diesel because there's no other reasonable choice.

the EPA needs to die

 

[cc1999]

I’ve owned 6 Dakota over the years,and absolutely loved them,but with Stellantis and the shitshow it is,I am done with them.
I can pretty much guarantee there will be little to no aftermarket support for them,especially depending on on the running gear etc they use.
Who knows,maybe they will surprise me,but i doubt it….

I think mid-size aftermarket support is a bit lacking compared to full size in general.

But. I can’t say it’s non existent.

The support of Stellantis products is relatively strong right now, especially on the Jeep side, and full size ram trucks have as much aftermarket support as any other brand of full size truck. The Dodge cars have pretty decent aftermarket support as well.

Will the new Dakota have a lot of specific aftermarket support, I am sure there will be some, and there is a lot of generic mid-size truck aftermarket product. I am not that going to be an issue.

 

[OffRoad308]

All of this!

Plus I can find no indication this is actually coming to North America, at least any time soon.

Production set for 2028. So still a while out. To be manufactured at their Toledo, OH plant alongside the Gladiator.

https://www.motor1.com/news/775868/ram-mid-size-pickup-launch-date/

 

[HighDesertRanger]

Production set for 2028. So still a while out. To be manufactured at their Toledo, OH plant alongside the Gladiator.

https://www.motor1.com/news/775868/ram-mid-size-pickup-launch-date/

Ah, thank you. That's what I was looking for and couldn't find. Apparently my google-fu is getting weak.

 

[Onceaneagle]

Nothing like operating my John Deere diesel tractor and getting the warning light in the middle of a job that it is time to perform a parked regeneration or remembering to put Hot Shot's additive in the fuel tank and cans to prevent winter gelling. Love diesel low end grunt power and fuel economy but not in my truck. I have to remember so much detail these days that I can't remember what I forgot.

 

[Bt_okst]

That is one fugly truck

 

[DesertBumAZ]

These are all over the place down in southern AZ, that and the BYD pickup

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