That was a minor annoyance. The fact that I never thought a weekend toy could be that inconvenient to operate. Strict (STRICT!) rules from Chevy about maintenance or else you get the warranty voided, another flatscreen dashboard that would go out while driving (sure just reboot) once in a while, no storage space to speak of, engine issues, and a transmission barely able to handle above the hp levels the car comes with, and visibility on the level of Daredevil (hard to tell if you're about to curb it).
).
So, you never gave how the Dark Horse compares on other levels than getting on and out.Wow, great comments. I thought I owned a lot of cars, but perhaps Ken has beat me out there (although he's older...
The car previous to the DH was a Zupra. As a long-time BMW fan (M5s, M2, M4 perhaps an M3 way back when) it was everything I was used to, but the thing was really difficult to get in and out of (worse than a Corvette!) and one thing I like about the Mustangs is that it's easy for us old guys.
I've had Corvettes too, but gave up on them when the C8 became auto only.
Oops, sorry.
Great write up!Oops, sorry.
Well, compared to a BMW M car (or Zupra) the most noticeable difference right off the bat is the quality of the interior materials. The Ford is still a Ford, Hertz would be proud to rent this car to you with the fake carbon fiber weave plastic trim and plastic, plastic, plastic. Now, to be fair, the BMW is nearly all plastic too, but it is thicker, better grained and just looks and feels of a higher quality. Where you see a carbon fiber weave, it is actually carbon fiber, not plastic. If it looks like leather, it may or may not be leather, but it sure does look and feel like it. And there are more settings and configurable changes one can make in a BMW M car, plus it has those cool "M" buttons for preset configurations.
And yes, the Zupra is not an M car, but it has an awful lot of M2 components and the power difference isn't as big as you'd think.
The BMW inline six engine is a glorious, smooth, linear and reliable powerplant. It also sounds quite tame, partly because of the turbos, partly because of European sound regulations and partly because BMW. Their "performance exhaust" is loud, drones horribly, and is really just loud, and not in a good way. I don't think there's a car out there short of the (pre-turbo) Aston Martin V8 Vantage that sounds as good as a Mustang V8. The Coyote is also quite smooth and linear, with adequate torque and did I mention that it sounds awesome?
BMW suspension tuning is unique, they provide a very compliant ride with very good handling characteristics. They have always been a bit too firm on rebound IMHO, but as compromises go, it's pretty good. The DH is obviously biased for performance handling, but with the Magnaride shocks, it's really quite good on the road in comfort mode. So much of ride quality is dependent on tires and air pressure that it's not fair to compare, but with OE tires and set in comfort mode, the BMW has a better ride quality primarily by absorbing the very small bumps better. On really big bumps or pavement heaves, the Mustang's suspension handles it better. In sport modes, the BMW tends toward harsh and can bounce through really bad turns while the Mustang feels better planted.
People have been complaining about BMW manual transmissions since the 80s. They are better than they were back then, back then they were sloppy and vague, as time went on they got better and more direct, but also more notchy and in the 00's BMW started putting in their clutch delay vale (CDV) to reduce driveline shock and make it more difficult to drive smoothly. In my OG M2 they also noticeably cut back on power on upshifts to further "save" the drivetrain and to piss me off. On my later cars (G82, Zupra) they did better with the engine tuning, but it's still there. The DH is much more visceral, you can hear the gears rattling around, the shifter is very direct and very notchy, often there's some grinding when cold (my car still has but 500 miles on it) and you can just feel that it's a much more robust box. The clutch is just about perfect.
LOL, I just realized that I've been comparing the Mustang to the BMWs, but up until July I also had a CT5-V Blackwing with the correct transmission, and that probably deserves its own thread. But it's not really comparable to the Mustang in any regard, other than being an American made V8 powered car.
TLDR; I like the Mustang, don't miss much about the BMW.
I went from the M3 to DH and as someone who daily drove these vehicles on South Florida streets I can say that they are both comfortable with one leaning towards being a swiss army knife (BMW) and the other being a butcher knife that knows exactly what it was made for.Oops, sorry.
Well, compared to a BMW M car (or Zupra) the most noticeable difference right off the bat is the quality of the interior materials. The Ford is still a Ford, Hertz would be proud to rent this car to you with the fake carbon fiber weave plastic trim and plastic, plastic, plastic. Now, to be fair, the BMW is nearly all plastic too, but it is thicker, better grained and just looks and feels of a higher quality. Where you see a carbon fiber weave, it is actually carbon fiber, not plastic. If it looks like leather, it may or may not be leather, but it sure does look and feel like it. And there are more settings and configurable changes one can make in a BMW M car, plus it has those cool "M" buttons for preset configurations.
And yes, the Zupra is not an M car, but it has an awful lot of M2 components and the power difference isn't as big as you'd think.
The BMW inline six engine is a glorious, smooth, linear and reliable powerplant. It also sounds quite tame, partly because of the turbos, partly because of European sound regulations and partly because BMW. Their "performance exhaust" is loud, drones horribly, and is really just loud, and not in a good way. I don't think there's a car out there short of the (pre-turbo) Aston Martin V8 Vantage that sounds as good as a Mustang V8. The Coyote is also quite smooth and linear, with adequate torque and did I mention that it sounds awesome?
BMW suspension tuning is unique, they provide a very compliant ride with very good handling characteristics. They have always been a bit too firm on rebound IMHO, but as compromises go, it's pretty good. The DH is obviously biased for performance handling, but with the Magnaride shocks, it's really quite good on the road in comfort mode. So much of ride quality is dependent on tires and air pressure that it's not fair to compare, but with OE tires and set in comfort mode, the BMW has a better ride quality primarily by absorbing the very small bumps better. On really big bumps or pavement heaves, the Mustang's suspension handles it better. In sport modes, the BMW tends toward harsh and can bounce through really bad turns while the Mustang feels better planted.
People have been complaining about BMW manual transmissions since the 80s. They are better than they were back then, back then they were sloppy and vague, as time went on they got better and more direct, but also more notchy and in the 00's BMW started putting in their clutch delay valve (CDV) to reduce driveline shock and make it more difficult to drive smoothly. In my OG M2 they also noticeably cut back on power on upshifts to further "save" the drivetrain and to piss me off. On my later cars (G82, Zupra) they did better with the engine tuning, but it's still there. The DH is much more visceral, you can hear the gears rattling around, the shifter is very direct and very notchy, often there's some grinding when cold (my car still has but 500 miles on it) and you can just feel that it's a much more robust box. The clutch is just about perfect.
LOL, I just realized that I've been comparing the Mustang to the BMWs, but up until July I also had a CT5-V Blackwing with the correct transmission, and that probably deserves its own thread. But it's not really comparable to the Mustang in any regard, other than being an American made V8 powered car.
TLDR; I like the Mustang, don't miss much about the BMW.
Yep. The first thing I noticed about my C8 was how cool the interior was... but after I began to get used to it, I realized the build quality is no better than a Mustang. Just looked neat.I had a couple of Mach 1's few years back - then bought a 2025 C8 Coupe sold in 30 days not impressed build quality was terrible, then bought a 2025 Z06 Convertible it was ok but after driving about 30 minutes couldn't wait to get out of it - being an older fellow just wasn't for me, felt like I was in a LOUD washing machine, with no protection.
Car I wished I never sold was my 2021 GT500, about the perfect car honestly ...
