I do tend to think, with the small truck* sizing, the Dakota turned it into a dick measuring contest. "Ooooh, we have the biggest little pickup truck on the market!" sort of thing. Frankly, Dodge never had a true small pickup unless you count the Ram 50. The Dakota was a mid-range truck not in the same category as the Ranger and S10/Sonoma.
* It's true of all vehicles, though, not just the small trucks. Today's F-150 is noticeably longer than the F-150 of prior years. That's how they can make the rear seat room best in class. And it is, it's seriously impressive, but for a SuperCrew full 4 door truck with a 6.5' box, it's freaking huge. It's a difficult truck to maneuver around our service area.