In a past that wasn’t so long ago, each of America’s Big Three offered an affordable mid-size pickup truck for folks who wanted to do hard work with a smaller truck. Yet, for a while, the only mid-size offering from Stellantis was the Jeep Gladiator. That’s finally changing, as Ram has confirmed that its new mid-size pickup truck will bring back the Dakota name, and it’ll be hitting the road in 2027. But what’s interesting is the projected price: It’ll start at roughly the same price as Ram’s full-size 1500.
The fact that Ram is gearing up for a mid-size truck revival isn’t anything new. A couple of months ago, we reported that Ram’s new mid-size truck will be built alongside the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Gladiator in Toledo, Ohio. This is after Stellantis initially allocated the truck to the Belvidere, Illinois, plant. Stellantis is putting $400 million into this project and it could also add 900 jobs to the area. The automaker also said that the new mid-sizer was coming in 2028.
… and that was pretty much it. No concepts or sketches were revealed to the public, the truck didn’t have a name, and no price was announced. We just knew that some sort of mid-size pickup truck was coming and that it would compete with the likes of the Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado, and Toyota Tacoma.
The Dakota Is Back
Ram boss Tim Kuniskis has finally spilled the beans. The new truck is going to revive an old and beloved name with mid-size truck enthusiasts. Yeah, the Dakota is back! Tim kept bringing out the good news, saying that the new truck is now scheduled to come a year earlier in 2027, and as if things couldn’t get any sweeter, Tim then said that the new Dakota will have a myriad of propulsion options, including gas and plug-in hybrid versions.
If you stop here, this sounds like some of the best news to come out of Stellantis in a while. Ram abandoned the Dakota nameplate in 2011 when the third-generation Dodge truck bowed out. Since then, Ram hasn’t had any mid-size truck to sell in the United States, which has basically let Ford, Toyota, General Motors, Nissan, and Jeep enjoy the spoils.
Mid-size trucks have enjoyed a strong fanbase for several years. In 2024, Ford sold 46,205 Rangers. This year, Ford’s moved 62,864 units as of November. Chevy moved 98,013 Colorados last year, and the GMC Canyon added another 38,486 units into the GM pile. Nissan moved 69,813 Frontiers in 2024. Meanwhile, Toyota sent 192,813 Tacomas home to families last year.
All of that is great! Mid-size trucks are a great way to do truck stuff, but without having a beltline as high as the Pan Am/MetLife building. The idea that Ram is coming in swinging with an all-new Dakota with a plug-in hybrid option is exciting. But then, you read the rest of the news. Namely, Tim says that the new truck will start at around $40,000.
Alright, let’s look into this.
The first concern that I have is that the Ram Dakota might be galloping out of the gate at a higher starting price than every other mid-size truck. Currently, a Ford Ranger starts at $33,350, a Chevy Colorado hits $32,400, a GMC Canyon is $38,900, and the Toyota Tacoma is $32,145.
Of course, all of these base prices are before fees that will drive the price up by a few grand or so by the time you leave the dealership. But, notably, most of these trucks are a pretty good bit cheaper than their respective automaker’s full-size trucks.
The odd one out is the GMC Canyon, which has a starting price that’s $900 higher than a GMC Sierra. However, the Sierra does have two lower trim levels that the Canyon does not have. Another exception is the Jeep Gladiator, which starts at $38,830. However, Jeep doesn’t have a bigger truck. Besides, the Gladiator is both a Jeep and a truck.
As of publishing, the Ram 1500 has a price of $41,575 before fees. Punching out the mid-size truck at $40,000 wouldn’t leave much buffer between it and the bigger truck.
Now, this could be harmless. Maybe, like the GMC Canyon, the new Ram Dakota will be a ‘premium’ truck even in base trim, with no cheap work truck version on offer. Sadly, since Stellantis isn’t really saying much yet, there is also the possibility that this truck will come at a similar level as a base Ford Ranger or a base Chevy Colorado, but at a Ram 1500-like price.
I should note that GM does sell a work-spec mid-size truck, so it’s not a big deal if GMC doesn’t have a cheap version. But if Ram launches the Dakota as a premium mid-sizer, it could be leaving money on the table, letting fleet sales go to Ford and GM.
Or, maybe my worrying is entirely unwarranted, and the new Ram will sell like hotcakes even without a lower-cost trim level. It’s also entirely possible that, given rising car prices, mid-size trucks in general could start at around $40,000 in 2027, making the Ram Dakota’s price right on target. I sure hope not.
Time will tell. Either way, it’s awesome that America is getting another choice for a mid-size pickup truck. I also love that it sounds like Ram is putting in a good effort on this one, too. This seems like a win for everyone! We’ll have to see if it all adds up to something folks are going to scoop up.
Top graphic image: Ram
I await the new $78,000 Neon Tungsten.
Just another of the many reasons that most are better served by having a trailer, not a truck.
Yeah the Gladiator has been selling so well at that higher price point lately this totally makes sense. Yea that is sarcasm.
Chrysler prices their products like furniture – inflated MSRP and always having a “sale”.
I think once you start adding realistic options, the Dakota will end up 80-90% of the price of a comparable 1500, but even then — for most buyers who don’t need the slighly smaller size that’s just not a good value anywhere in the truck world. There are a few exceptions to the rule, like the Tacoma outselling the Tundra pretty handily, but that truck is more of a lifestyle accessory at this point. It’s reputation exceeds its sales.
I just want Stellantis to start being honest with themselves about where they are in the minds of most Americans.
I smell the 15% rebates coming a few months down the road
“Tim says that the new truck will start at around $40,000“
*Insert Tim Allen “AEUHHH?!?!”*
I don’t think so Tim.
The name isn’t actually being revived, they came up with it when someone said “You mean it’s the same price as dakota ton truck?” and the mondegreen just stuck.
Nobody in the room had ever heard of the Dakota before.
They are just building in the inevitable incentives they will have to throw on the hood to move the paperweights they produce.
$40kish is where the mid-size volume sellers are at so thats not too surprising to me. I’m assuming since its Gladiator based it has standard 4wd as well.
Because Stellantis refuses to sit on their laurels and let Jeeps 4Xe be the only model in their stable with runaway recall rates! This is truly innovative stuff.
Ram dealer: “Look at the Jeep place next door! They’re always packed full of people, we want some of that action….”
My first band new vehicle purchase was a 1999 Dodge Dakota, which I selected after about a year of comparison shopping against Ford, Chevy and Toyota competition. I Selected the Dakota based on it’s competitive price and slightly larger footprint, and was pretty happy with it overall. This new one seems to not meet those criteria. IT’s okay I’m not shopping for brand new anything let alone trucks anytime soo.
“Now, this could be harmless. Maybe, like the GMC Canyon, the new Ram Dakota will be a ‘premium’ truck even in base trim, with no cheap work truck version on offer”
So only over-optioned trims will be available to justify a sky-high MSRP.
*sigh*
I would not be surprised if it doesn’t meet sales expectations.
“Or, maybe my worrying is entirely unwarranted, and the new Ram will sell like hotcakes even without a lower-cost trim level.”
One thing of note… hotcakes don’t sell as well as they used to because hotcakes are essentially junk food with little nutritional value.
So yeah… this new Dakota may very well ‘sell like hotcakes’.
But these days, that’s NOT a good thing.
Good Lord just fire everyone already. This is not a serious company.
So Ram will just ram up the prices of the full size trucks?
This is exactly 100% what’s going to happen. They’re doing the same thing they did during Covid where they grossly overestimate their customers’ brand loyalty and jack their prices up to the moon.
It’s also the classic “oh we don’t have a midsized that has exactly what you want but we DO have a half ton that does, and Greg from finance has a deal for you that’ll only cost you another $75 per month if you sign on the dotted line in the next 6 minutes!”
BINGO
And people will do it. I’m stereotyping I know, and I’m sorry, but I truly feel that a lot (not all) of Stellantis buyers are not terribly clever when it comes to their own personal finances and are easily lead around by an attractive monthly payment and convincing marketing.
So yes, this midsize feels like it’s being built so they can increase prices on their full-size trucks and try and push even more people into those. And when the midsize flops because it’s a POS and nobody wants it, those 900 manufacturing jobs they created will be lost and nobody at the top will even care.
I am one of what seems like the few people in existence that started out with a compact truck, moved to full size trucks, and have now moved back down to a mid-size. I fully admit, I got caught up in all the ‘you gotta have a full sizer to be AWESOME’ when I was younger. And honestly, I did love my last one, a 2012 F-150 crew cab with the 5.0. But… I didn’t need it. It was too big, I couldn’t park it in my garage, and driving around the Heights in Houston where I lived for a short time was a nightmare. And after it unfortunately got totaled in a major accident, I ended up going to a crew cab Nissan Frontier. And I LOVE that little truck. Does any truck thing I need (I don’t tow, just weekend runs for mulch and building supplies), is comfortable, and has plenty of power in the 4.0 V6. And though it’s woefully out of date looking being a 2015 model, I upgraded it for Carplay so I’m a happy camper, and I am looking forward to finally buying some toys for it now that my son is out of day care (wooohooo got a raise hahaha)
Easy solution: New $48,995 starting price for 1500
My immediate question is whether they’re making this to be competitive in an already competitive class or if they’re phoning it in and are making it so they can upsell people into 1500s. I get that it’s a little tinfoil hat-ey but to me it’s almost always felt like the American manufacturers hold back with their midsizers because the half tons are the alpha, omega, and everything in between for their brands…and with the special financing all these companies have for their huge trucks they really do make it easy to lure less informed buyers in.
We’ll have to see. I’d lean towards they’re taking it seriously because RAM is one of the few branches of Stellantis that gets as many resources as they need and the RAM 1500 does seem to be the gold standard for that class at the moment, especially now that they’re shoving Hemis in them again (I’d still go Hurricane, don’t @ me).
Anyway despite my reputation as a Truck Hater I’ve actually toyed with the idea of getting a midsized truck. I have no use for a half ton in DC and the ridiculous size of the damn things would make them ridiculously cumbersome in the city to me and everyone around me. But a midsized? That would do quite well for dad duties. We love gardening, my family has jet skis that need towing every offseason, and muddy soccer cleats? Throw em in the bed.
My holdups (if anyone even cares lol) are the tiny backseats and the lousy fuel economy. It’s hard to get full sized humans and car seats to fit in them. The car seat safety ratings that cars dot com and other sites do basically say the Taco and Ford Fuckin Ranger are abysmal. The Colorado/Canyon pass with flying colors, but the legroom is somehow worse than in my fucking Kona. I mean…how? How do you even pull that off with a 5,000 pound vehicle that’s as long as a goddamn Suburban?
The fucking Turbomax also gets maybe 20 MPG combined in ideal conditions if you’re lucky. Again…how? GM dropped an insane amount of resources into that motor and it’s basically a V8 efficiency wise. It baffles me. Anyway, if RAM makes a PHEV that doesn’t suck ass (seemingly impossible) and has actual backseats with a manageable footprint I’d be interested!
But that won’t happen sadly. And guess what? All the companies have full sized trucks that meet all those requirements, they just conveniently cost $10,000 more and are the size of a small house! What a coincidence!
I’ve considered a mid-size pickup for similar reasons as a dad with 2 kids no longer in car seats, but have ultimately decided against it. The main reason is there’s nowhere for the dog to go, so if there’s anything lab sized in your future you might consider that. The third row in our Mazda5 works great for buckling her in for long trips and she can curl up just fine behind the back seat in my Mazda3 in a pinch, but the mid-sizers don’t give any room.
Other reasons: my girls are tall enough that they appreciate being able to recline their seats a bit instead of the vertical rear seatbacks of a lot of pickups. There’s not a great place to carry groceries or clean sports gear, luggage, etc, which I do a lot more than carrying muddy or wet stuff. Also tire costs lol.
I really like the current mid-size options. I was admiring my coworker’s Ranger just yesterday and there’s a Canyon in my neighborhood I like. We also camp and do a lot of outdoor stuff and home improvement projects. But pickups are still just too compromised for me with the bed, and I have a trailer for when I really need the space.
This thing is DOA if they can’t get their hybrid act together.
Opportunity for Stellantis to split it like GM has with GMC/Chevy
Ram as the “work” version where you can get a base model without power windows
Dodge as the luxo-margin version that starts half-way up the foodchain
With Stellantis’ latest marketing for the USA, I could see them marketing them as His/Her trucks.
That’s a good idea, I was one of those that never understood breaking Ram out into it’s own brand in the first place, it was always a Dodge to me. But making them two brands like GM? That’s brilliant
Hmm, I could see this, but I don’t think Dodge being the “premium” to Ram makes sense. But a non-Gladiator Jeep or Chrysler pickup doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, either.
GMC is kind of a unique anomaly of a brand where they’re specifically a luxury brand for trucks. Not even a Cadillac Colorado/Canyon makes much sense.
Everyone: We love the Ford Maverick with it’s size and affordability!
Stellantis: Hold my $40,000 beer.
Jeep: Please accept our apology letter for getting the Jeep Gladiator Royale with Cheese which may or may not self-combust.
To be fair Ford also did away with the affordability part REAL quick. As soon as they saw how much demand there was for it they casually raised the price about $10,000 and hoped no one would notice.
My ’24 Mav XLT Hybrid was $30,100 tax, tag and shipping.
For real, I’d seriously consider a base Ranger (which is not as base anymore) instead of a base Maverick. It’s only about $4K more but it offers much more power, towing, features and interior quality
Please someone, anyone, take the PHEV mantle from Stellantis. I’m begging you
I understand their pricing, this is right where Ridgeline is. However, Honda doesn’t sell a lot, for several reasons. Really, they should offer a low-spec version for $29,995 and let people option it up.
For better or worse, the Ridgeline is also a crossover more than a “truck.” You can slap together an inexpensive mid-sizer with a simple frame and leaf springs, but a unibody costs more to get right. Compared to the Pilot starting price, the Ridgeline “Pilot with a bed” is a reasonable deal. Still, it’s a bummer they can’t get it to a more competitive price in the segment.