2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse or 2023 Dodge Challenger Swinger?

I was raised on the sound and the (inconsistent) fury of the V-8. Make no mistake: I appreciate the exhaust note of a well-tuned three-, four-, six-, 10- or 12-cylinder engine, as I do the near-silent power of electric cars. But there’s something about a V-8 under load that speaks to me. Usually loudly.

Even if most are now in pickup trucks or big SUVs, I’m grateful they are still out there. The imminent death of the Dodge Hemi-powered cars and the Chevrolet Camaro at the end of the 2024 model year is saddening. I nonetheless find hope in Ford President and CEO Jim Farley’s recent statement: “If we’re the only one on the planet making a V-8 affordable sports car for everyone in the world, so be it.”

A couple of accomplished V-8-powered cars recently cycled through my press-car custody, and I think it’s worth discussing them together: a 2023 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack Swinger and a 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse.

Apples and oranges? Perhaps, but not as much as you’d think. They are comparable in horsepower (485 for the Challenger, 500 for the Mustang), sticker price ($66,815 for the Challenger, $63,920 for the Mustang, though both may have dealer markups on top of those prices). Both have six-speed manual transmissions, and they are just a tenth of a second apart in 0-to-60 mph times. They’re both EPA-rated at a combined average of 17 mpg, and both prefer to drink premium fuel. The Challenger has a $1000 gas guzzler tax; the Mustang’s is $1300.

I don’t think I’m giving away the ending of the story to say this: Both cars are such a blast to drive.

Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack Swinger

The final Dodge Challenger rolled off the assembly line at the Stellantis plant in Brampton, Ontario on December 22 of last year. There are no 2024-model Challengers; all the new ones are leftover 2023s.

We’ve told you all about Dodge’s “Last Call” promotions, designed to send the aging Challenger and Charger off with a series of seven special editions. Special edition number three was the $5580 Swinger package, harking back to a Swinger model of the 1969 Dodge Dart, which was not necessarily a performance car unless you ordered it with the 340-cubic-inch V-8.

The Challenger Swinger wasn’t the most powerful of the Last Call cars, but it had a more-than-adequate 6.4-liter Hemi V-8. Dodge built 1000 Challenger Swingers, all of them widebody models.

Some of the Last Call Challengers were legitimate fire-breathers, including the very last one built: It was an SRT Demon 170 with 1025 horsepower. When the Swinger was announced in September, 2022, Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis said it had a “unique, fun character” with no real claims of immense performance.

So, essentially, it’s a cruiser. Albeit one with a healthy 4.3-second 0-to-60 mph time, reached in second gear. While it may not have monster horsepower, the big engine’s 475 lb-ft of torque helps it launch off the line with authority. The Swinger also has a “shaker” hood, meaning you can watch the exposed hood scoop shake under acceleration. We must note that it barely moves, unlike the shakers on the original Challengers.

The Swinger’s sturdy Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual has been around since 2008, and it has proven itself to be durable in high-horsepower applications, but it’s a little truckish and stiff-shifting.

Specs: 2023 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack Swinger

• Price: $47,265 / $66,815 (base/as-tested)
• Powertrain: 6.4-liter V-8; 6-speed manual transmission
• Horsepower: 485 @ 6100 rpm
• Torque: 475 lb-ft @ 4100 rpm
• Layout: Rear-wheel-drive, two-door, five-passenger coupe
• Weight: 4298 lbs.
• EPA-Rated Fuel Economy: 14/23/17 mpg (city/hwy/combined)
• 0–60 mph: 4.3 seconds

Perhaps the Swinger’s biggest surprise is its ergonomics. Front seats are excellent. Rear seats are passable for two but awfully small for three, despite that the Challenger is a five-passenger car. Controls are a bit dated—after all, this car has been around since 2008 and hasn’t had a real facelift since 2015—but they actually complement the retro theme. Getting to the data-logging and electronic tuning “performance pages” takes a little longer than the Dark Horse’s one-button access, but the pages are useful when you get there.

Handling has never been the Challenger’s long suit, and it still isn’t, though the reasonably stiff adaptive-damping suspension and huge 305/35ZR20 all-season Pirelli tires help the Swinger get around corners quite well, and the Brembo brakes, with six-piston calipers up front, are stout.

Still, there’s no masking the fact that this is a big, heavy car weighing in at nearly 4300 pounds. While Ford and Chevrolet trumpeted the Mustang’s and Camaro’s handling on twisty roads and road courses, Dodge emphasized the V-8 Challenger’s ability on the drag strip, where weight matters a little less. To that end, the Swinger boasts line lock and launch control features.

While the 2023 Challenger has been out of production for nearly two months, at this writing, there are more than 23,000 still on dealer lots, according to Dodge.com.

We plugged three filters into the “new inventory” search engine—Challengers with the 6.4-liter V-8, R/T Scat Packs, the wide body kit, and the manual transmission—and found 314 still available, including a Last Call Swinger painted Sublime Green (a $395 option) with the exact same equipment and list price as our test car, located just 150 miles away. Your search results may vary.

You could do much worse than any of the Challengers with the same specifications as our Swinger. A big car, big engine, big personality. And the styling remains classic.

2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Ford calls the 2024 Mustang the car’s seventh generation (S650), which some may consider a stretch since it’s basically built on the (S550) sixth generation’s platform, which debuted as a 2015 model. But unlike the Challenger, the Mustang Dark Horse feels entirely fresh. At first, I wasn’t convinced the Mustang’s exterior update was an improvement, but it’s growing on me, especially the Dark Horse’s surprisingly anonymous yet slightly sinister looks.

Our Dark Horse was lightly optioned, but the car comes with a long list of impressive standard equipment, including Brembo brakes, transmission and differential coolers, selectable drive modes, the excellent MagneRide suspension damping system, a Torsen limited-slip differential, and a 12-speaker B&O premium sound system.

One option I do suggest is the leather-trimmed Recaro front seats—pricey at $1650 but better (and better-looking) than the standard cloth and vinyl seats that came in our test car. If you plan to frequently track your Dark Horse, by all means, opt for the $4995 Handling Package; it includes a more aggressive rear spoiler, stiffer chassis tuning, and adjustable strut top mounts, which helps dial in a track-focused alignment.

Mostly, though, the package gets you bigger and better wheels and tires: 305/30R19 up front and 315/30R19 out back, compared with the base 255/19/40R front and 275/40R/19 rears that our Dark Horse wore.

Specs: 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse Premium

• Price: $59,485 / $63,920 (base/as-tested)
• Powertrain: 5.0-liter V-8; 6-speed manual transmission
• Horsepower: 500 @ 7250 rpm
• Torque: 418 lb-ft @ 4900 rpm
• Layout: Rear-wheel-drive, two-door, four-passenger coupe
• Weight: 3949 lbs.
• EPA-Rated Fuel Economy: 14/22/17 mpg (city/hwy/combined)
• 0–60 mph: 4.2 seconds

Both sets are made by Pirelli, but the Handling Package version features P Zero Trofeo RS tires that are superior for cornering braking. Buyer beware: The best price we could find on a replacement set of those tires was $2317.

If you don’t plan to take your Dark Horse to the track, the standard (summer) tires and suspension are just fine. The base Dark Horse corners amazingly well, and the ride, especially on the “normal” setting, is more comfortable than you’d think. (The six drive modes are Normal, Sport, Slippery, Track, Drag Strip, and Custom.)

Perhaps the biggest surprise is the Dark Horse’s rev-matching Tremec TR-3160 six-speed manual transmission. It’s decidedly better than the Getrag MT-82 in the Mustang GT—the gear shift lever throw is short and sure, and the clutch feels just right. There’s nothing wrong with Ford’s 10-speed automatic, a $1595 option, and there are several cars where I prefer the automatic over the manual. The Dark Horse is not one of them.

Inside, the front seats lack some lateral support, and I had trouble getting comfortable in longer drives. I’ve driven a Dark Horse with the Recaros, and they are worth the money. The instrumentation and electronic controls take some getting used to; there’s a 12.4-inch horizontal digital instrument cluster, and just to the right is a matching 13.2-inch center display. As you’d suspect, it’s all configurable.

The biggest decision you’d have to consider with a V-8 Mustang purchase is whether or not the Dark Horse is worth the extra money over, say, a Mustang GT Premium, which starts at $46,015 and has just 14 fewer horsepower if you get the active exhaust. The Dark Horse starts at $57,970, and I’d be perfectly happy with one that had zero options. My guess is that if you plan to keep the car, that $12,000 gap between the two would narrow rather quickly due to the perceived higher resale value for the Dark Horse.

As for which I’d take, it’s a matter of personal preference rather than outright merit. I’d be delighted to own the Challenger, but I suppose I’d prefer the Dark Horse, for that transmission and suspension. And for that 5.0-liter V-8 engine sound, which speaks to me at just the right volume—louder than loud.

2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Highs: Sweet engine, excellent transmission, under-the-radar looks, if indeed that’s what you want.

Lows: Standard front seats need work. Somehow gets worse fuel mileage than the Challenger.

Takeaway: Get one while you can.

2023 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack Swinger

Highs: Supple ride and handling, great front seats, wonderful exhaust note under acceleration, look-at-me styling and color, if indeed that’s what you want.

Lows: Rear seats supposedly good for three… but woe is that middle person.

Takeaway: Get one while you (barely) can.

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