In-Depth Dodge Dakota Aero Analysis Shows the Old Truck Is Actually Pretty Slick

The Drive

03-08-2025

The latest car news, reviews, and features.
I've never once thought about how aerodynamic the second-gen Dodge Dakota may or may not be. Of course, I'm pretty clueless when it comes to stuff like that; the closest I've been to a wind tunnel was when the AC went out at my high school and they stuck fans at the end of the hallways. But fortunately, there are some smart cookies at Premier Aerodynamics who specialize in this practical type of airflow analysis. A customer recently asked them to simulate their Dakota, and as you're about to see, the truck's designers actually got a lot right considering it's just an old mule.
Premier Aerodynamics runs these simulations in a program called OpenFOAM. It's open-source computational fluid dynamics software, or CFD for short. They've tested some interesting concepts, from a car with rows of spoilers on the roof to every kind of helicopter blade and aircraft wing design you can think of. Personally, I'm a little too simple for most of that, so the Dakota appeals to me just fine. Premier Aerodynamics via YouTube
Replicating a 65-mph air environment, the aero wiz host shows the Dodge pickup from multiple angles, changing heights while also tweaking the display to show flow as well as low- and high-pressure zones. He points out that because the second-gen Dakota's front is so rounded, it's actually on-par with a lot of cars. It's even better than some supercars at allowing air to pass up and over the hood, while even creating some downforce below the bumper.
'Look at how much low pressure there is,' the host insists. 'We've said it time and time again: A rounder underneath is better for drag, and it can also produce good downforce. Dodge accidentally proved it here.' Premier Aerodynamics via YouTube
He draws special attention to the truck's flat roof. It allows for a fairly consistent flow speed, which results in less energy lost, but what's more important is how it directs the air as it heads toward the bed. This is where it gets more technical, but he does a great job of explaining how the air can take one of three paths after rolling off the rear of the cab: far past the tailgate and into the wake, just short of the tailgate where a high-pressure zone forms inside the bed, and just over the top of the tailgate. The latter is the preferred option, but also the least likely in the Dakota's stock form.
Any way you can keep the air from landing just shy of the tailgate is for the better. By forming a high-pressure area, it creates a considerable amount of energy that is pushing against the rear of the truck, which is the opposite of what you want. He mentions that you could find a way to flare the roof at the rear of the cab, sending more air slightly up so as to avoid crashing into the rearmost part of the bed. 'By playing with that flare angle, you can dramatically reduce the drag of a truck,' he explains.
I won't waste either of our time by rehashing everything he says, because it's better illustrated in the video where the views aren't static. One relevant note is that he recommends a tonneau cover for aerodynamic efficiency, adding that it really only needs to cover the back half of the bed to net a noticeable benefit. As arguably goofy as they look, those fastback truck bed covers are some of the best in terms of drag coefficient.
You should definitely check out the rest of the video if you want to learn how the air interacts with different design elements on the truck, whether that be the wheels that sit mostly flush with the front fenders and bedsides or the trailer hitch underneath the back. He gives some handy tips, not only on how to improve the Dakota's aero performance but also on how you can avoid making it worse with different mods. Most conventional truck 'upgrades' tend to make them less efficient, but you know, there are some diehard hypermilers out there.
The Dakota's 0.44 drag coefficient lands dead-even with a Porsche 911 GT3 RS going roughly 180 miles per hour with a window down, but slightly ahead of—as in, better than—a Lamborghini Countach and Jaguar D-Type. That's crazy to me, but then again, I'm in unfamiliar territory with all this. I have a feeling we both have a lot to learn from this channel.
Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: [e-mail]