Going from Mach 1 to Dark Horse?

[Vladdracule]

Hi all,

So the TLDR version of the story is my Mach 1 is going back to Ford under lemon law. Because they are no longer produced I'm not able to get a replacement of any kind so Im just getting my money back which leaves me on another car search.

At this point I'm considering 3 options, a Dark Horse, a C8 Stingray, or neither and getting something cheaper to use as a daily driver and then looking at either of these again when interest rates start coming down more.

My main question is, has anyone gone from a mach 1 into a dark horse? Ill be honest, i never loved the mach 1, part of the reason why i perused the lemon policy, and it was a combination of reasons. I never loved the s550 styling, it grew on me, but it never looked as good as the s197. That may be part of my issue is i went from a '14 GT to the 22 Mach 1, and the upgrade just didnt really do it for me. Partially because of styling, but also because it didnt really feel like as big of an upgrade as I hoped. It handled better, could feel that on the road, but the added power, the styling, and the interior being slightly better quality, still kinda just felt the same. digital dash is cool, but i didnt feel added much to the experience.

The s650 I like the front end far more than i ever could bring myself to like the s550 front end, the rear, not a fan at all but i think i can live with it, the interior also is much more updated to it than going from a 14 that had a very similar setup, just added the digital dash and the switches which are cool.

What is it like going from a mach to a DH? Ive always been a huge mustang fan, its just this last round of upgrade didnt seem to really do it for me. I went from an 05 V6 vert while in collage, to my '14 GT/CS to the '22 M1, and the gap between the GT/CS to the M1 just wasnt that impressive to me.

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[broncoboy22]

What was wrong with your Mach?

 

[Q6543]

Go grab a 2013/14 GT500. I think that’s your solution

 

[onaccountof]

Ill be honest, i never loved the mach 1, part of the reason why i perused the lemon policy

Interesting, what was wrong (unfixable) with the Mach 1 ?

 

[Vladdracule]

Interesting, what was wrong (unfixable) with the Mach 1 ?

a car doesn’t haven’t to be unfixable to meet most lemon laws. It’s mostly a matter of quantity of repairs and duration in a shop, and it’s cumulative. My machine 1 spent over 50 days at the dealership over the course of a few years to qualify

 

[DarthMalice]

Huh. Preferred S197 to S550 but yet considering a car that gets even further away from the simple S197 design by going to more digital craziness inside. I guess I can see liking the blocky S650 front end better if you are a S197 fan. The Mach 1 and Dark Horse have had nearly identical times on every performance test. It is not much of an upgrade...Horsepower went up but so did weight. If you pulled your filter from the Mach 1 to recover 2021 power levels, this is even more the case. Disregard me as biased if you will but go look at nearly every review that has times on it and you will see the facts. Braking is the only metric where the DH got significantly better and that might have more to do with the TROFEO tires than it actually does with the brakes. Unless you are tracking, you will probably be ditching those tires rather quickly anyways if you get the Handling Package. Faster steering but many reviewers have said it is even more numb than S550. Frankly, of your choices, I would be going C8. That is what I would do if my Mach 1 had something happen to it...DH is way too much money for what you get. If not C8, just wait to see what the next high level Mustang variant is for 2026.

 

[Mustang1987]

I agree that the s650 looks a lot better and more aggressive than the 2018-2023 s550s.

Didn't have a Mach 1 but did have a s550 with performance pack etc, and I absolutely love the s650.

If you want a new American V8 muscle car, this is it.

 

[LuckyGuy]

I’ve had 9 Corvettes of many generations but I sold my C8 nine days after taking delivery. Visibility was brutal, I couldn’t get comfortable in the seat, the button row separating the passenger seat from the driver was a pain, water leaking into the engine compartment, and I missed a manual transmission. Took delivery of my DH a week ago and love it. Sure it isn’t as quick as a Corvette and it is heavier for sure but it is fun to drive, has plenty of power and is just so much more practical than the C8. No more Corvettes for me.

 

[RLE55]

and the upgrade just didnt really do it for me. Partially because of styling, but also because it didnt really feel like as big of an upgrade as I hoped.

Yea, I'm with ya. Years ago I tried a Rib Eye Steak and didn't like it as well as the NY Strip...

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