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Camaro
This is third thread I've posted this week in this forum and I don't even own an M3. The feedback from you all has been great so I thought I'd do another. There's a pretty good V8 manual coupe on the market and prices are close to the E9x. A Camaro SS can be had for a little over $25k. An SS 1LE (same drivetrain but with upgraded brakes, cooling, handling, bigger wheels) is dipping into the low $30s. My impressions after a couple drives:
-The inputs (steering, shifter, pedals) are excellent. I knew the performance numbers would be impressive but good it felt surprised me. I expected it to feel more like the Mustangs I've rented.
-There is torque everywhere all over the rev range. It's not a screamer but it pulls all the way to 7k. It's geared long though so opportunities to wind it out on the street won't be many. Horsepower figures (455) tell only part of the start about this engine. The dominant feeling is the 455 lbs of torque.
-There's a lot of grip. For a test drive I was somewhat aggressive. The rear end does not play-at least it won't for me on the busy suburban streets I drive. On the roads I drive this is a 5/10 car not because it won't feel good but because the limits are so high. (A base SS is as fast straight or around a track as an F80 M4).
-To underscore the massive fail that is BMW's turbo 6, the Camaro gets just 1 mpg less. BMW used to make some of the best NA engines in the world. Pity.
-Lotsa good cabin tech. With the 2SS package it gets heated/ventilated seats, heads up display, blind spot monitoring (needed for this car, more on this in a moment), and an okay not great Bose stereo. There's a backup camera and and CarPlay—ordinary or even mandated stuff nowadays.
-Heads up display comes with the 2SS package or standard on the 1LE. After using this I wonder why this isn't on every performance car. There are a few displays to choose from. I would use the one with speed and tach. It shows g-forces too which is fun but maybe not so useful. It does function as a way to measure the circumference of one's gonads, figuratively.
-Most of the things you regularly touch like the steering wheel and shifter feel okay. Things like headliners and the dashboard are the cheapest GM cost-cutting crap you can imagine.
-It's sounds the business.
-Visibility is poor. Only my wife's old first gen Mini Cooper convertible with its top up was worse. It wasn't as bad as I expected but it's a problem. It seems not great for city driving. One had better learn to trust one's mirrors and even then I'd want the 2SS with the blind spot monitoring. I think I could deal but I think it's totally reasonable that the visibility makes the Camaro a non-starter for some. That's a pity because it does so much right.
-It defies physics. With the 1LE it turns laps faster than super cars with more power and less weight. It also manages to have the same footprint as a Cayenne AND to have a smaller back seat than a Mini Cooper. How is that possible? It's built on the same platform as the ATS which can be had in a sedan.
-It's big. Much bigger than an E90 in both length and width but with a smaller back seat than an E46. Access to the rear is obviously much better in the E90 which will carry a fifth passenger besides. Most reviewers don't mention how small the back is which is an oversight since Chevy made a good two seater with this drivetrain.
-the sheer bigness and lack of visibility would be the biggest hurdle for me. I drive my wife's Cayenne without a problem but I don't drive it spiritedly as I would a Camaro. I'm not sure I know where the corners of the Camaro are and worry about being in my lane or hitting a curb.
Anyway, I'm really curious what this forum's thoughts are one the 6th gen Camaro.
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