The 2009 Mitsubishi Raider, as with all Raider year models, is a Dodge Dakota knockoff, and not a very good one. It looks like what you would expect from a knockoff, with duller styling and fewer and plainer colors, inside and out. There are no changes to the Raider this year, and there are not likely to be any changes made to it as it limps along to that great truck pile in the sky.

Mitsubishi is fighting a troubled past in the United States and the hope was that the Raider would help, but many of their own executives and engineers questioned that hope from the beginning. The doubters seem to have been right, now there are suggestions this will be its last year, and it is almost certain not to make it past a couple more years.

Since there is no midsize pickup category the Raider, like the Dakota, is classed as a small pickup, which is a bit unfair. However, it ranked below or about class average in every area except passenger room, where it was, as would be expected, well above average.

The Raider comes with a single engine, a 3.7 liter, 210 horsepower V6, making it basically underpowered, even though its performance is about the same as the Dakota with a V6 (also underpowered). There are two transmissions, a six-speed manual or a four-speed automatic, both with overdrive.

Fuel efficiency with the automatic transmission is 15 miles per gallon in the city and 20 miles per gallon on the highway, but with the manual transmission it gets another mile per gallon in the city. The thing is, for only a mile per gallon more the Dakota V8 delivers almost a 100 more horsepower and over a 100 more pound feet of torque. Maximum towing capacity is slightly more than 4,000 pounds with a maximum standard payload of 1,700 pounds.

Raider has only one trim level, designated LS. It comes with either an Extended Cab, with the small back seat, or what Mitsubishi has named a Double Cab, obviously with four full doors. Double Cab comes in either four-wheel or two-wheel drive, while the Extended Cab is two-wheel drive, only. Conversely, the Extended Cab comes with either manual or automatic transmission, but the Double Cab is automatic transmission, only.

At a base price of $21,135 the 2009 Mitsubishi Raider is only $60 more than the base cost of the Dakota. Indeed, the Dakota base price with a V8 engine is less than a $1,000 more than the base Raider. That seems a bit unreal for a knockoff, especially one that falls short in so many places.