Someone said something about their Dakota being roomier than a Ranger or a Tacoma. Toyota changed the body in 2005, and my '05 gives me plenty of room. I'm 6'2", with long legs and still have quite a bit of room to move the seat back. Head room is better than the Ranger; a full fistful of space overhead. I have not looked at the Dakota. The 2005+ style is similar to earlier models, but side by side, the later ones are clearly larger, probably almost as large as a Dakota.
Check reliability. Before I went for the Tacoma, I asked every Toyota owner I knew about repairs and they hadn't had anything more than normal maintenance. I am sure there are exceptions, but overall, their reputation for reliability is probably justified. And the price difference I paid between a Ranger and a Tacoma would easily have covered the cost of the Ranger repairs I had--and it wouldn't have spent weeks in the shop.
After having owned one Dodge and having driven several at work, I was sold on not buying a Dodge. Air leaks thru door handles (right by the steering wheel, blowing cold air on the hands in the winter), water leaks around the windshield (had an electrical fire in the dash because of this), poor starting (well, that WAS pre-fuel injection--Chrysler didn't know how to make a choke), multiple transmission repairs until the fleet manager thru it into reverse at 35 mph to insure we would get a new tranny rather than wait while they fixed the original for the 3rd time. They may have improved their body quality since those days, but there is one other consideration--Will Chrysler still be in business 5 years from now?
