I have a 2007 QC Dakota 2wd. 4.7L, 454RFE automatic, 3.55 gears w/ Suregrip. Bought it new, now has 78K miles on it.
Mine is a bastard child. It is "technically" an ST base model truck, but it has the SXT & SXT Plus packages on it. As a result, it's fully loaded with everything except the very high end do-dads like leather, moon roof, auto head lamps, etc. It even came with the full towing package and 18" wheels, but it still had the basic factory stereo, which I swapped for an in-dash 6-disc/MP3 unit from a 300C. Enough about all that....
OPINION: I love this truck. To me it is the perfect balance of being a truck, but not a huge truck. It rides, drives and handles like a car, but I have stacked 800lbs of scrap metal in the back and it didn't miss a beat. I have pulled car trailers with it, no problem. I have owned a 2001 Ram, a 2002 Ram 4.7 (both 2 doors) and this Dakota is better than both of them for me. The Gen III Dakotas are also much more stoutly built than previous generations. Compared to the frame flex on my moms 2001 Dakota, mine is built like a tank. Very solid, very stable.
MILEAGE: I drive about 75% hwy and the rest city. I tend to drive at 70-ish mph and I have a somewhat heavy foot when accelerating from a stop. Real world, I get 18-19mpg combined. On road trips with the cruise control set about 72mph I get 22-25mpg depending on terrain.
PROBLEMS: The only problem I have had was a faulty Thottle Position Sensor on the throttle body when it was only a few months old. The truck would inexplicably drop out of lockup and shift gears with no warning or reason. Took the dealer 10 minutes to fix. No problems beyond that.
BRAKES: The brakes are not as good as what was on my 2002 Ram. The Dakotas are now rear drum only. On the plus side, it is the same 9.25 axle that is under the Gen II Durangos, so the 12" disc package will bolt right up (I have not done this yet, but plan to). As for the front, I installed slotted, Cryogenic rotors from Centric (Powerslot) with ceramic Akebono pads, and now it stops like a champ.
SHOCKS: The factory shocks suck. The front shocks will wear out quickly and will start to bounce over high speed bumps. At 50K I replaced mine with Monroes (front and rear) and it was a massive improvement. Should have come from the factory this way.
ENGINE: The 3.7L is not a "bad" engine, but it simply does not have the *** to push a truck around, and will definitely not pull any kind of car trailer. They also get no better mileage than a 4.7L, so don't bother. The 42RE was the only automatic trans option with the 3.7L, so you are stuck with a 4spd auto behind the V6.
TIRES: The factory equipped Goodyear GS-A tires are garbage, with terrible wet weather traction. I also didn't realize how much road noise they caused until I replaced them with something else and the truck magically much quieter. I opted for BFG Long Trail T/As, and they are vastly superior tires IMO.
MODIFICATIONS: Ah yes, the ever fun mods list.
EXHAUST: As much as I love Dodge, they can do some bone headed things. The exhaust on the 4.7L is a joke. They run dual cats (one on each bank) with 2.25" pipes, but then they have a half-assed crushed y-pipe that chokes it down. I had the exhaust hacked off after the cats and had a true-dual exhaust system installed with Magnaflow mufflers. It sounds good (little throaty, but not at all loud) and allows the engine to breath much better.
INTAKE & THROTTLE BODY: I had a friend port out the stock throttle body to remove the torque step, then polished it with a mothers power ball and some metal polish. I also fabricated my own 3" cold air intake with parts from Autozone ($100 total).
I dynoed my truck before and after the above mods (Dynojet). I went from 166hp & 218ft/lbs to 188hp & 247ft/lbs. There was only a two week lapse between dynos, and weather was consistent. The truck now has a Superchips Flashpaq, and I am running 199hp & 258ft/lbs with the 93 tune. Keep in mind, I am getting 22-25mpg hwy, with the HP Superchips tune.
