Dark Horse poorly received??

[toodawg4ever]

So as I look into purchasing my Dark Horse a few things are apparent. I’ve been to 4 dealers for reference.

1. They are sitting in showrooms with no dealer markup. That’s good news and bad news.
2. The dealers generally know very little about them. And seem disinterested in selling them.
3. The highest percentage of reviews on YouTube seem negative or MEH.

I’ll say that I was able to test drive a 6sp DH Thursday and truly loved the car. Obviously I wasn’t on the track or drag strip. But from an overall awesome interior, the sweet Tremec and overall fun factor I was impressed.

I’m guessing the price point, interest rates and the enthusiast’s continued love of the 2018 GT350 seems to have stalled any excitement for the DH.
Just wondered what others thoughts are.

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[Q6543]

The only people that still like GT350s are homers, several of my friends have had them and couldn’t wait to sell them, including a 350R. The cars look amazing but are slow AF without boost, and no one wants to boost what’s gonna end up being a 25K voodoo replacement.

for over half of the country it’s WINTER still… at least wait until August.

I think they’re an absolute bargain fwiw.

 

[toodawg4ever]

So….Your saying don’t buy at MSRP and wait for discounts? Or are you saying MSRP is a bargain now?

The only people that still like GT350s are homers, several of my friends have had them and couldn’t wait to sell them, including a 350R. The cars look amazing but are slow AF without boost, and no one wants to boost what’s gonna end up being a 25K voodoo replacement.

for over half of the country it’s WINTER still… at least wait until August.

I think they’re an absolute bargain fwiw.

 

[Q6543]

I think MSRP on a ford specialty vehicle is a bargain. Especially if you’re getting a HP car.

it may not stay that way come summer time.
I also think the overall value of the car you’re getting for 60-70K is a bargain..
Now i
Bought a base GT for 43K just for racing, which is an even better bargain to me.

Had I known I could’ve gotten a base dark horse around 60K …. I would have.
But when I was ordering dealerships wanted 10-15K ADMs

 

[toodawg4ever]

I ultimately felt MSRP for a Dark Horse spec’d the way I wanted in 2024 was fair.

Seems as if everyone compares 2024 pricing to 2018. Nothing will ever be that cheap again.

 

[JAL]

My thoughts on DH:
I think it is awesome, and that's the one I would have bought if financing rates were the same.
Where I live the DH is 3% higher interest rate on finance than the GT.
I'm not interested in a car's prestige or pedigree, only track performance. So given the amount of money I have to throw at a GT to get it track ready vs just buying a DH with handling package and a set of track wheels and tires, I save myself a ton of money that I can put towards track entry fees and consumables.
My car will not have the Tremec, but I've never had any issues with the MT82-D4 in my previous track car so I think I will be fine. And if not, it can be rebuilt easily.
I don't plan on reselling the car, so having all sorts of suspension mods is not an issue to me, and I can dial in exactly what I want with the aftermarket.
I had the same debate with my S550... getting a GT-350/PP2/Mach 1 or putting the light wheels, suspension and undertrays/spoilers I want on a regular GT...
I think DH is great. I would have bought it if I didn't want to mess around with modifications. For me the big pile of money saved building what I want on a cheaper spec car is worth it.

 

[Upacurb]

If you are buying a Dark Horse or a Mach 1 or a GT350 to win drag races your buying the wrong car

you can buy a Tesla for less money and win almost every stop light encounter…

these are experience cars … not drag race cars … these are not Dodge Demon competitors …

if the car hits you in that right spot… buy it
Don’t worry about what others think or say

every car whether it be Dark Horse or GT350 provides a unique driving experience… choose the one that suits you best …

if you want a Mustang to win drag races… S650 is to heavy as a starting point… better off building a fox body … promise you can build a faster fox body for less money …

just because some prefer one car over another doesn’t mean the other car is bad…

I love my voodoo but I also love the scream of the coyote … In the F150 the 3.5 EcoBoost is faster but I bought one with the slower coyote because I love that coyote sound also …

anyone who hates any factory S550 or S650 has some growing up to do

 

[GripTime]

So as I look into purchasing my Dark Horse a few things are apparent. I’ve been to 4 dealers for reference.

1. They are sitting in showrooms with no dealer markup. That’s good news and bad news.
2. The dealers generally know very little about them. And seem disinterested in selling them.
3. The highest percentage of reviews on YouTube seem negative or MEH.

I’ll say that I was able to test drive a 6sp DH Thursday and truly loved the car. Obviously I wasn’t on the track or drag strip. But from an overall awesome interior, the sweet Tremec and overall fun factor I was impressed.

I’m guessing the price point, interest rates and the enthusiast’s continued love of the 2018 GT350 seems to have stalled any excitement for the DH.
Just wondered what others thoughts are.

There isn't a bad Mustang IMO. The DH is new and a slightly new formula. The suspension tuning and suspension upgrades create a car that is fun to drive and track fast out the box despite its weight. And regardless of reviews the DH track times have been more than solid. You still have active GT350 lawsuits being litigated in court. So the benchmark GT GOAT has lawsuits and is discontinued. So what will be the long term view of the DH? Who knows, I am an early adopter but 500HP RWD Manual is hardly taking a chance. You can still buy new 2023 Mach 1s so they are sitting on lots as well.

I say all that to say, there isn't a bad Mustang. Just choose what you like depending on budget, whether you want to mod, track, etc.

 

[Dragster]

There were a lot of comments about the Mach 1 being "just a parts bin car" when it came out as well. At the end of the day, it's hard to argue against the GT350 being a more "special" car because it has a completely different engine, but they're all used cars now, so it's not an apples to apples comparison.

Personally, I like the Dark Horse, but the pricing can be hard for many to swallow. A DH premium is about 8K more than a "comparably" equipped GT (GT premium with active exhaust, PP, and Magneride). Is 14 hp, the Tremec, and two additional coolers really worth $8,000? For a lot of people, the answer is "no." That's most of the cost of a Whipple. The DH handling pack is obviously a different story.

 

[Dave2013M3]

To be frank there isn't much difference from the GT. You don't see it in the performance benchmarks other than cars with the handling package. Which can easily be corrected with the aftermarket it's hard to justify the expense of a DH. Not to mention the horrendous color choices for the interior, oh wait there is only one color choice.

 

[Ryunker]

So as I look into purchasing my Dark Horse a few things are apparent. I’ve been to 4 dealers for reference.

1. They are sitting in showrooms with no dealer markup. That’s good news and bad news.
2. The dealers generally know very little about them. And seem disinterested in selling them.
3. The highest percentage of reviews on YouTube seem negative or MEH.

I’ll say that I was able to test drive a 6sp DH Thursday and truly loved the car. Obviously I wasn’t on the track or drag strip. But from an overall awesome interior, the sweet Tremec and overall fun factor I was impressed.

I’m guessing the price point, interest rates and the enthusiast’s continued love of the 2018 GT350 seems to have stalled any excitement for the DH.
Just wondered what others thoughts are.

Owning one, there is not a better choice than the DH for me. My local dealer has a pretty yellow GT in the show room (Job1 so no autostart) I spent a bit of time in and around that one as availability for the DH is very limited here. If the only choice for a '24 was the GT, in my case it would have resulted in an extra $70k in the bank. Seemed nothing special or really changed from last Gen.

The DH (tremec equipped) just about 1,000 miles in has been a complete joy every mile, even averaging over 20 mpg since new. Often when driving it results in finding new features kind of like bonus features "Easter eggs" if you can relate. I never had the chance to see / drive them side by side.

Just about 100% of video reviews online I found extremely useless. All the cool shit for me was never even discussed or featured in any review online.

To be frank there isn't much difference from the GT. You don't see it in the performance benchmarks other than handling, which can easily be corrected with the aftermarket to justify the expense of a DH. Not to mention the horrendous color choices for the interior.

If your tunnel vision for the car is solely on performance I see your point. Otherwise you could not be further from the truth.

 

[roadpilot]

I've owned (and built) many Mustangs including plenty of Fox bodies and several S197s. I skipped the S550, opting for a C7 Z06 instead.

I've been without a pony/sports car since 2017. When I decided to look into another Mustang, I did the S550 vs S650 comparison, and decided on a new '24. When it came to the GT vs DH thing, I ordered a GT with all the same options as the DH Premium and the MSRP difference was $5,700.

I then came across a DH that was literally on the assembly line.

I took delivery of the DH 7 days later.

Why?

1. I was leaning DH to begin with
2. I'm not planning on drag racing
3. I'm not planning on tracking
4. I had no desire to spend time and money to build a GT when I could just buy the DH (my serious wrenching days are behind me)
5. I don't care if a BMW or any other car is better/faster/lighter/more nimble than a S650 "on the track" or "at the strip"
6. The price difference between a GT and a DH is a non-issue for me, as I can afford what I want
7. If I choose to FI the car, the DH Coyote has some stronger components than the GT Coyote
8. I don't care about depreciation or resale value
9. I don't care what anyone else has to say about why I made a decision that differs with thier decision
10. Whether you think it was worth the extra money or not, the DH is still a special vehicle

That said, if I already owned an S550, would I trade it in on a S650? Probably not. But since I didn't have to make that choice, I went S650 because I like new stuff.

If you don't agree with my decision to pay MSRP for a DH when I could have saved $11K on a comparably equipped GT PP using my AZ Plan discount, that's your opinion and I respect it.

But that doesn't mean I made the wrong decision. It means I bought what I wanted to buy, not what you think I should have bought. And in the end, that's all that matters to me.

 

[bee bop]

There are deals to be found out there. I Found my Darkhorse just like I ordered (on April 10 23 and still not production date) minus the Handling pack about 100 miles away from me for $4k under sticker.

 

[Karguy]

The problem with the DH is that it brings nothing new to the table despite having a for a Mustang very high price tag…The experience as in handling and power is pretty much the same as you could have had in any 2015 on S550 Mustang…Yes you get the Tremec and oil coolers for engine,trans,differential you need for trackdays but still no 5.8 for more bottom and mid range torque,same chassis,weight but a new touchscreen interior which saves Ford but some real gauges and better materials would have been better…Except for price the DH really did not raise the bar compared to the last gen Mach 1 thats the reason for lack of enthusiasm IMHO…Having said that I would take a DH over a GT350 because the Vodoo is not that good of an engine…Dont like the boring 2x4 cylinder sound , the lack of power below 4000 rpm not really much above to get excited , the thirst for oil and the vibration you can feel in shifter and dashbord as the rpms climb…Very overrated car IMHO and yes it was loud but it did not sound good almost boring inside…while the 5.0 with dual mode exhaust sounds awesome!

 

[HWill]

I could have had a DH at MSRP but I didn't see a reason for the price over the GT. IMO it is not special, Id would have taken a Mach1 over a DH.
I don't like the front or the badges of the DH.
I would say the only advantage the DH has over the GT is the manual trans.

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