New Camaro sure is impractical.

[Chad-1stGen]

So I finally got around to driving one of the new Camaros this past weekend. I rented a loaded 6 cylinder hard top model and drove it around for four days. As I haven’t had any real interest in purchasing the car I haven’t read any reviews on it or followed it so I had no expectations other than the exterior looks have grown on me and it looks cool.

First, the cool stuff I liked about the car:
- As mentioned I really like the exterior styling. Great looking car.
- Some of the interior materials are nice such as the seats and steering wheel (my car was leather)
- Heads up display
- Sport mode for the transmission and paddle shifters on the wheel (though shift from first to second was a bit sluggish when using the paddle shifters)
- V6 power was impressive. Car was able to get up and scoot very well.
- Lay out of controls was pretty intuitive for a long time GM driver and easy to use

Ok the stuff that I didn’t like
- I still remember reviewers blasting the 4th gen Camaro for poor visibility and the visibility in this car blew my freeking mind!!! I mean that absolute most terrible visibility out of any car I have ever been in, in my life. I can handle poor rear window visibility and even some big blind spots in the rear quarter area. However, the dash and door lines are so high that even forward and sideways visibility sucked. I got used to it and could easily drive the car around but I didn’t ever LIKE it. I still can’t believe they designed it to be this bad.
- Headroom totally sucked! I’m really hoping that because the car I drove had the sun roof that the normal coupe has an extra inch or two of headroom. I had to tilt the seat to a ridiculous angle to prevent my head from hitting the ceiling. I also found it really weird that if I lowered my head so that my hair wasn’t rubbing all over the ceiling then my eyes were low enough that the bottom of the heads up display began to cut off (though upon reflection maybe that can be adjusted?). My dad has a late model mustang and he gave me a ride at one point over the weekend to my car and I could sit normally in the seat and have loads of room to spare above my head.
- WHAT the hell was GM thinking in the trunk design? I actually laughed out loud when my wife opened the truck to put our bags in. The trunk itself is plenty roomy, you just can’t get your bags in there lol. The lid is already somewhat small which given the body lines I agreed with but the tail light parts protruded into the trunk too.

Just like the fourth Gen Camaro I think you have to really want a Camaro to buy one of these. For the more casual driver any performance advantage is not going to offset some of the crazy limitations the car has that the Mustang doesn’t.

Final note. Nobody had reset the average MPG tracker on the computer (based on the average mpg not moving my whole 4 days and both trip meters still equaling the odometer). In 7,600 miles the 6 cyl car has averaged 22.2 mpg.



Anyhow, just thought I’d share the experience with my car friends.

[rustomatic]

It seems par for the course: They made "improvements," but didn't think about much from a logical perspective. I had similar thoughts when testing the new 370z a couple years ago. You couldn't see a damn thing out of it while driving, and the visual changes they'd made were just ugly--it was like they'd gone for the look of a BMW Z4 and failed. The previous model (350z) was better (I had one, and had lots of issues with it as well...)--I imagine many Camarophiles have been saying the same thing, large-size Geo Storm comments notwithstanding.

[Vicinity]

I'm glad they made another, but I'm not happy with it. The ass end is too large for my tastes, I really don't like the dash, and the windows are tiny.

That said, the leather interior is really nice, and the power plant will become cheaper and eventually enter my car.

[ssmike]

Chad,

I hear you on the head room thing......I am tall, but fit in just about everything I've sat in. I tried to test drive a hard top SS model and my head was touching the headliner with the seat all the way down and angled way back.......

Obvious deal breaker - I didn't even try to drive it.

[rfalker1]

hahhahah I understand. I am 6'7 and have the 2ss manual. Even though i understand ur complaints i love it. It fits fine. especially with how adjustable the front seat is.
But I also like to recline my chair, so maybe thats the difference. However the trunk is terrible lol and no visibility out the rear window.

[trapin]

I think when history looks back people will refer to the 5th gen Camaro as the "Fat Boy" Camaro.

Chad you're analysis is spot on. Yes the car is absolutely beautiful in it's design but once you sit in it you descover it's limitations which are ultimately a consequence of the car's exterior theme. What also drives these limitations is the vehicle's Zeta architecture. The belt line on the car is high but the holden version has a higher roof. Design fought tooth and nail to get that roof as low as possible, I always felt it needed another inch at least and I don't think it would have hurt the car's looks too much. The interior has a cavernous feel to it (almost like riding in a tank). But still I like the car as a whole. Not a fan of the interior though...never have been.

I will say that the non-sunroof car does have more headroom making it more enjoyable to drive. Last week I had to oppurtunity to drive my Uncle's 2011 Mustang GT for a few days because he needed to borrow my truck. I hate to admit this but the Mustang feels lighter, nimble, & more athletic.

My hopes are the 6th gen car will go in this direction.

[406 Q-ship]

The high body sides is the way the manufactures are getting through the newest side impact standards. I bet the next generation Mustangs may suffer with the same high sides and mail slot windows like the Camaro and Challanger have. If you really want to see how tall the 5th Gen Camaro really is, park it next to a 4th gen f-body and the new Camaro is massive. I love the 5th Gen Camaro for its handling, styling, and power......now the weight is rediculous (it is a fat pig!) and the head room is too tight (if your over 6ft don't even consider a sunroof). I hated the button shifter on the steering wheel (GM if your going to do paddle shifters then do PADDLE SHIFTERS!!!). I think that GM did an OK job with the Camaro, and that Ford did a slightly better Mustang with the S197 but take the best of both and make an awesome sports coupe. I would still like to have a new Camaro but I would not give up my Monte Carlo, Malibu, or even my C10 truck for it.

[olason]

The problem I see with the 5th gen camaro, is it uses the same platform as a pontiac g8. If your building a sports car, why use the same platform as a sedan for a coupe. I know the cts is done that way, and I hate the butt end of those. I hope gm cleans up a little bit with the next generations of their models in the next few years. I still haven't owned a foreign car, and I want to keep it that way.

[67zo6Camaro]

Nice personal review. Thanks

[Kenova]

The problem I see with the 5th gen camaro, is it uses the same platform as a pontiac g8. If your building a sports car, why use the same platform as a sedan for a coupe.

Cost.
The very same reason F-bodies and X-bodies shared platforms for the first two generations. Without those cost savings the current Camaro would never have made it to the dealers show room.

Ken

[mikedc]

The 2010 Camaro is probably the first car in history where customizers will RAISE the roof to improve it.

[nekkidhillbilly]

in all fairness ive only thought the 2nd gens where even decently comfortable

[parsonsj]

I used to describe my long-gone 2001 Z28 as big on the outside and small on the inside.

[BonzoHansen]

how can a car that big have useless back seats?

[Ishmael]

Tony, you said 6th gen. That's awesome. What I would love to see on the 5th gen (don't laugh) is t-roofs.
Olason, as far as platform is concerned it doesn't mean that they can just switch bodies. Besides, have you driven a G8? My buddy has the GT. It will put down high 13s in stock form, handles nicely, and fits like a glove. I love that car - nothing wrong with the platform.

[trapin]

Tony, you said 6th gen. That's awesome.

6th gen; as an assumption. I am not privy to that information.

You might see a mid-cycle enhancement at some point but beyond that I have no idea. .....and of course I couldn't reveal it if I did.

[nekkidhillbilly]

the g8 imo is the best car been built in recent years

[-The Stig-]

They are pretty nice to drive, it's a shame it died with Pontiac. :(

I'm not sure what's taking so long for GM to just re-badge it as a Chevy of some sort and make some cash with it.

[Vicinity]

They are pretty nice to drive, it's a shame it died with Pontiac. :(

I'm not sure what's taking so long for GM to just re-badge it as a Chevy of some sort and make some cash with it.

It's a Caprice. They're already fitting them for LEO's.

[Mingus]

I've owned at least one of every other generation of Camaro (68 SS350, '77, '88 IROC, '91 Z/28 convertible, '93 Z/28, '94 Z/28). I really wanted to like the new one but it just doesn't do it for me personally. I like the new Mustang, but I wanted a Challenger since I first saw the concept car in '06. I ended up buying an '09 B5 Blue R/T 6 speed for a daily driver. Even though it's the biggest and slowest of the 3 new pony cars, to me it was the most comfortable for "normal" driving. I have put 49,000 miles on it in two years (luckily '09's have a lifetime drivetrain warranty) and I still love it.