FWIW, I tow my 2,500 lb ITA car with an '03 Frontier and a 16' open trailer (steel/wood bed), and it does just fine. For the mileage it gets though (12 towing, 17 otherwise) I would just as well have gotten a full-sized Tundra or Titan. I would imagine either the Dakota and Tacoma are about as bad. It is nicer as a d/d; even with the crew cab and 6' bed it isn't much, if any, harder to drive than your typical SUV.