Dark Horse vs GT Premium

[MarkS650GT10]

Have another question would like opinions on. Is the upgrade to the Dark Horse worth the extra cost over a GT Premium? I currently have a 2025 400A GT 10 speed and like it a lot, upgraded the wheels and tires ( one set for winter and one set for summer) and tinted windows only mods so far.
Just looking to the future in 2 or 3 years if would be better to upgrade to dark horse, probably 600A.
What do you all that own the Dark Horse currently think? Wish Ford would put cooled seats standard in the 600A, they do in the 400A GT. seems like the GT has nicer standard seats on premium trim. otherwise the dark horse comes pretty loaded with options standard.
also, for dark horse owners how do you like the B&O system? I have the 9 speaker and like it after getting it set up how I like it but curious how much better is the B&O?
thanks!
Ford may also come out with more special trim levels in next few years but probably be higher cost than even dark horse.

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[JediMindTrix]

After having a loaded GT premium 401A with perf pack I ordered a 600A DH with Recaro's and the handling pack due to the value proposition. Really not missing much except for trim on the dash, the security pack and what became for me was annoying lighting effects.

 

[TwiztdWun]

I have the GT Premium PP, Nite Pony, Brembos with drift feature, 401A group, Magnaride, 10 speed with 3.55 Torsen rear. I couldn't justify the DH upchrage for 14 more HP. For the price difference of the two, it pays for the whipple which gets me a lot more than 14HP. I am too.... ummmmmm..... manly ( reads: fat ) for Recaros and love having heated and cooled seats anyway.

The B&O sound systems sucks no matter what Mustang you get.

 

[MCS]

I am too.... ummmmmm..... manly ( reads: fat ) for Recaros and love having heated and cooled seats anyway.

The B&O sound systems sucks no matter what Mustang you get.

I use this as a litmus test for whether I'm allowing myself to get too big or need to dial down on the food and drink a little LOL I don't really miss the heated seats since it doesn't drive in winter and the cooled? I have AC or roll down the window. I'm old school like that!

As for the stereo, yeah it does.

 

[Psmiano]

Fwiw, I didn't find the DH more compelling than my 401a GT Premium. Not for the 10-15K uplift anyway.

I got the PP, Active Exhaust, Nite Pony and Magnaride on mine. I also fit the seats in mine better than the Recaro Went yesterday to get a quote on replacing the 9 speaker sound system and adding a sub. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't drop the $995 for the B&O system. I've heard some Sony systems in older Fords that just smoke the B&O. Admittedly I'm a bit of a snob about the sound but I'm not going super crazy either.

 

[MarkS650GT10]

Yeah for daily driving the premium GT is good, getting the dark horse would also be nice and it comes pretty much optioned out except for cooled seats and aluminum pedals on 600A. will weigh the options in the future whenever i do trade with prices and such. dark horse would be more rare to see around here also.
I actually am liking my 9 speaker now, have bass set just above halfway, treble 2 clicks from minimum, midrange 1 click from minimum. set to stereo, for all passengers, fade and balance centered, and high on speed compensation. use youtube music set to high quality.
actually sounds pretty good and some bass you can feel set around volume level 12 to 13.
i also priced out a powered subwoofer and its around 800 to 1000 dollars installed, gonna hold off on that now.
so b&o does not sound much better than the 9 speaker? just more bass i would think. probably same speakers otherwise, i read they all use ford speakers.

 

[smurfslayer]

I've heard some Sony systems in older Fords that just smoke the B&O. Admittedly I'm a bit of a snob about the sound but I'm not going super crazy either.

What Sony systems? The Sony in the pre-’18 trucks was abysmal.
Were they stock, or had they been modified? One thing the Sony gave us was it was easier to upgrade.

I don’t find the ’24 B&O horrid, or horrible, but it’s not wowing either. At least it isn’t anywhere near as muddy as the F series Sony was.

 

[Psmiano]

The system I am referring to was in a 2013 Explorer Limited. Was miles better than what I've heard from the B&O systems. Not sure if it was modded but it looked stock to me. Admittedly a small sample size, but it's my opinion.

 

[Psmiano]

Yeah for daily driving the premium GT is good, getting the dark horse would also be nice and it comes pretty much optioned out except for cooled seats and aluminum pedals on 600A. will weigh the options in the future whenever i do trade with prices and such. dark horse would be more rare to see around here also.
I actually am liking my 9 speaker now, have bass set just above halfway, treble 2 clicks from minimum, midrange 1 click from minimum. set to stereo, for all passengers, fade and balance centered, and high on speed compensation. use youtube music set to high quality.
actually sounds pretty good and some bass you can feel set around volume level 12 to 13.
i also priced out a powered subwoofer and its around 800 to 1000 dollars installed, gonna hold off on that now.
so b&o does not sound much better than the 9 speaker? just more bass i would think. probably same speakers otherwise, i read they all use ford speakers.

I guess it all depends on the music you listen to. It just doesn't sound good to me. If you were able to get it sound nice for your ears, that's great! The B&O does sound better with the sub but it's still not what I was looking for based on what I could hear from driving just a couple. The 9 speaker system just could not do it for me with the wide variety of music I listen to. 50s thru present, lots of rock, 70s motown and metal. More hip hop and rap with my girl as that's her goto. I'm also justifying the cost to upgrade since I got mine in the x-plan and didn't have the B&O on the one I found on the lot. All my other boxes were checked.

Definitely the Dark Horse is a rarer sight. The GT Premium is all I need, but that's me. We all have a slightly different itch to scratch.

 

[smurfslayer]

The system I am referring to was in a 2013 Explorer Limited. Was miles better than what I've heard from the B&O systems. Not sure if it was modded but it looked stock to me. Admittedly a small sample size, but it's my opinion.

so basically the same Sony system in all pre-’18 trucks. If it sounded good, it was modified. The “mixing” Ford used on the Sony system was, literally, several factors worse than current B&O offerings. You literally could not hear acoustic or rhythm sections in a band. My wife’s Subaru was better and more true to life sound!

I spent about 2700 USD on my Raptor’s system, which still says “Sony” on the dash speaker, but it’s definitely not. In fact, before I went to the MTI sub, I was using the stock sub enclosure, kicker 8” sub and an amp in addition to the 4 channel amp. There’s not looking at it and telling that it’s an aftermarket stereo. After I Put in the bigger MTI sub & amp I did put in a gain knob on the dash but that’s it.

Now, I’m not saying the B&O from ‘24+ is great, or even very good. I’ll give it a “good” for at least not muddying up Bernie’s banjo in Take it Easy.

 

[Psmiano]

so basically the same Sony system in all pre-’18 trucks. If it sounded good, it was modified. The “mixing” Ford used on the Sony system was, literally, several factors worse than current B&O offerings. You literally could not hear acoustic or rhythm sections in a band. My wife’s Subaru was better and more true to life sound!

I spent about 2700 USD on my Raptor’s system, which still says “Sony” on the dash speaker, but it’s definitely not. In fact, before I went to the MTI sub, I was using the stock sub enclosure, kicker 8” sub and an amp in addition to the 4 channel amp. There’s not looking at it and telling that it’s an aftermarket stereo. After I Put in the bigger MTI sub & amp I did put in a gain knob on the dash but that’s it.

Now, I’m not saying the B&O from ‘24+ is great, or even very good. I’ll give it a “good” for at least not muddying up Bernie’s banjo in Take it Easy.

HA! Ok, there were a couple others I heard, but only once or twice. I'll take your word on it for sure that it was likely modified. I'm looking at an Alpine system to improve the sound in my Mustang. Deciding on how much sound deadening I want to do since I like to hear her rumble, so there will be some trade offs there. We can't go around disrespecting Mr. Leadon!

 

[AzkAdAsh]

I had them install the Recaro seats in mine and I have no regrets. Any time I stop for gas, someone always approaches me to talk about the color, Blue Ember, and I always catch people taking pictures of it whenever I'm coming out of the store or wherever. The B&O system is nothing to write home about, and will likely be the first thing I upgrade, since I've had it less than a month at this point. The rarity factor is pretty neat. It's not a "limited edition" car, but there are few enough of them that even though I live and work in the Seattle area, I haven't seen any other Dark Horses other than mine on the streets. Also, since dealerships aren't just ordering them to have them sit on the lot, and because I waited for mine and got pushed from a 2024 to a 2025, at the time I took deliver, mine was the only 2025 Dark Horse in Washington. So that's cool too.

 

[Unixis]

I have the GT 401A w/ PP + magnaride + exhaust and specifically wanted mine for the stock prem seats (non-ricaros). Comfy and love those coolers/heaters for long drives. When I'm in the canyons the thing is on a rail so I don't need DH handling package at all. No plans to be doing turns at 140+ mph. I also have the 12sp B&O... and was very disappointed in the sub's strength (but who's surprised in a stock paper-cone system). I'm older than I used to be so I don't want to rattle the trunk off, but when the volume's at 24+ I'd prefer to maybe feel the bass / bass drum (at all). I did the ~$70 Pioneer sub replacement + polyfill and am MUCH happier. Is it a custom rig sound? no... but I didn't lose more trunk space and I can now get "immersive sound" (again, when the mix hits right). It'd take full speaker swaps, amps, enclosures, and caps to do more... and again I think it's "better than average" now/not bad enough to justify losing the stock looks (and space) of a full replacement sound setup (/side-eye: though... there is a lot of space in that empty spare tire well since the PP drops the spare.....)... Who knows? Future problems.

Pic of sub-swap components:

Stock look... way better sound (for less than $100):

 

[135Hoser]

It's not just 14 hp on the dark horse.

https://www.mustang7g.com/forums/threads/gen-4-coyote-5-0l-v8-specs-photos-s650-mustang.156258/

We also allegedly get slightly longer gears if you go with an a10.

 

[young at heart]

I had a beautiful ‘24 GT Premium and it was a great car.

I traded it for a ‘24 Dark Horse and it‘s almost like they’re not even built on the same planet. Very little point of comparison IMO.

If you’re comparing the two cars and even mention things like stereo, heated seats, etc. I’d say the DH would be a waste of your money. It’s a driver’s car and everything else is way secondary.

Just my $.02.

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