02/07/2008 11:38. One automotive critic recently observed that the third-generation 2005 Dodge Dakota drives like a "darn truck." Well, it is a truck. But if you compare the revamped '05 with the Dakota of the last decade, that harsh view doesn't hold up. Back home in Texas, my 1999 single-cab Dakota ("Baby" is her name) does indeed drive like a "darn truck" on the relatively flat roads of El Paso. And it turns into an out-of-control galloping horse when it hits a mild bump. So it came as quite a surprise when the 2005 model nicely handled the monstrous road craters of wintry Manhattan like a sedan.

Handling aside, though, the... // Newsweek