My Review: 2010 Camaro SS

[SVT666]

I know what you guys are expecting. You're expecting me to rip the Camaro a new one simply because I love Mustangs.  This review is as completely honest about this car as I can be. I will compare a few things to the 2010 Mustang GT because it is the direct competitor and I have driven it as well. The car I drove is a 2010 Camaro 2SS with an automatic (no manuals available) that stickered for a hair over $40,000. Nobody should complain about the Mustang's $34,000 price tag when the competition costs this much.

Exterior:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I do like the styling of the new Camaro. I didn't like it as first, but it has grown on me. My only complaint is how the back of the door is the cut line between the front half and the rear. It almost looks like they took two cars and stuck them together, but luckily the two cars were designed by the same guy. The lines just don't flow. Having said that, the car looks downright badass in some colours, however it looks kinda "meh" in others.

Interior:
Unfortunately it does look terrible. The plastics aren't as bad as some magazines would have you believe, but they aren't quite as good as the Mustangs. The guage pod, when it's lit up, looks like Bumblebees eyes, which is not a good thing and are hard to read at a glance with the needles being as short as they are. The gear shift knob is huge, but it's easily reached. The seats are deep, well bolstered, but not as comfortable as the Mustangs. Ingress is easy. Egress is a royal pain the ass. The doors are so long and the seats are so low, that I felt like an 80 year old man trying to get out. But when you're in, it's comfortable and feels good.

Sightlines:
One word: Shit. Forget shoulder checks. Forget seeing cars coming from the right at an intersection. The only good viewing for the driver is out the driver's door window and directly in front. I stopped at a 4-way stop and literally had to lean forward and hunker down as low as I could to see under the rearview mirror that completely blocks the entire middle of the windshield except for the bottom 6". The passenger side A-pillar and mirror block a lot as well. Shoulder checks are literally, impossible.  This is a perfect example of why most manufacturers don't build production cars that look exactly like the concept car.

Performance:
It was wet, so it was difficult to get the power down without spinning. The paddle shifters blow. The delay is at least half a second before a shift occurs and when the revs climb as fast as they do, you have to hit the paddle a good 1000 rpm before you want it to shift. The power?  The power is....un-fucking-believable, and it comes on fast and it comes on hard and doesn't stop until redline. The only reason it stops there is because of the fuel shutoff. Otherwise it feels like it would keep going to 10,000 rpm. Simply astonishing.  My only two complaints are that GM dialed in way too much power at throttle tip-in and spinning the tires is hard not to do, and the transmission programming is crap because not only are the shifts afterthoughts but when you are at a standstill and you put the shifter into D, it slams into gear like a 1981 F-150.  Did I mention the power?  The only car I've ever driven that was faster was my modified Mustang, but it weighed 700 lbs less and didn't have the finesse of this car.  Did I just say finesse?  Yes I did.  The handling is really good.  Compared to most cars the Camaro turns in sharply, has little body roll, and handles bumps very well.  The steering is the letdown here.  It's very isolated with very little feedback.  The good thing about this car is despite being very heavy, it doesn't feel like it.  Though it does feel big, and it feels like it could kill you if you misstep in a corner.  It's quite touchy (in the wet).  The Mustang (Track Pack) I drove had very similar ride qualities and the handling was sharper and more confident, but the steering was 1000% better.  

Verdict:
POWER!!!!  If that's what you're after, this is the car for you.  It is a formidable corner carver (in the dry) and would probably be an absolute hoot on a track.  However, if you don't want driving to be a chore (especially in the city), then get something else.

Would I like one?  Sure, but even if I was single there is no way this would be my only car.  You can get away with that with the Mustang, but not this car.  Driving it every day would eventually grow tiresome and become somewhat tedious.  As a weekend toy, sure I would get one....but not for $40K.  I would rather get a GT500 for a couple grand more.

[2o6]

*breathes a sigh of relief*


Good to see you liked the car.





Let's wait for Nethead's head to explode.

[Eye of the Tiger]

My head asplode.

[280Z Turbo]

What's funny is that the design team wanted the roofline lower.

[Northlands]

Too bad it was raining.

Does the car have stability control? Would it interfere at all with the shifting because of the wet roads? I'm wondering if that had any effect on the shifting delays?

[2o6]

Aren't torque converter automatics generally slow on user inputs, though?

[hotrodalex]

Aren't torque converter automatics generally slow on user inputs, though?

Yes.

[MX793]

What's funny is that the design team wanted the roofline lower.

A lower roof would have been totally doable if they lowered the beltline and the firewall along with it.

[SVT666]

I just added something to my Verdict.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

I agree with not wanting to drive this car everyday. In your opinion 666 wich would you buy? A '05 Vette (25-30k Z51 and nav) or the 2010 SS.

[sportyaccordy]

Good review. Shame the car's so huge. They need to scale it down by 80% and give it a lower shoulder line. It would be a 100% winner for me then.

[giant_mtb]

I think it's fucking gorgeous, but that acute visibility is just...unreal.  Why would they design it like that???

[Catman]

Good review. Shame the car's so huge. They need to scale it down by 80% and give it a lower shoulder line. It would be a 100% winner for me then.

LOL, you think every car is too large.

[Eye of the Tiger]

LOL, you think every car is too large.

I think Accords are too large.

[2o6]

LOL, you think every car is too large.

Yeah, it's kinda funny.

20% smaller would make the Camaro 152" long.


A Yaris is 150" long.

[MX793]

LOL, you think every car is too large.

That's because any car that is longer or heavier than a 1992 Accord is too big or too heavy.

[68_427]

Good review. Shame the car's so huge. They need to scale it down by 80% and give it a lower shoulder line. It would be a 100% winner for me then.

Awwwwww yeeeeaaasaaaahhhh




I tried.  lol

[2o6]

Awwwwww yeeeeaaasaaaahhhh




I tried.  lol

Oddly enough, I like that.

[SVT666]

I agree with not wanting to drive this car everyday. In your opinion 666 wich would you buy? A '05 Vette (25-30k Z51 and nav) or the 2010 SS.

The Vette without question, only because if you're going to buy a weekend car, then get the car that's best at being a weekend car.

[SVT666]

Good review. Shame the car's so huge. They need to scale it down by 80% and give it a lower shoulder line. It would be a 100% winner for me then.

It's not as big as you think.  It's 190" long which is only 2" longer then a Mustang, but it's also 2" wider, and 300 lbs heavier.  It feels like it's 12" wider and longer then a Mustang, but what surprised me was that it didn't feel much heavier.  It feels longer because the wheelbase is 10" longer I believe.  It felt a little heavier, but not 300 lbs heavier.

[Minpin]

Oddly enough, I like that.

Is it really that odd? You like everything.

[2o6]

Is it really that odd? You like everything.

The proportions remind me of this:

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

The Vette without question, only because if you're going to buy a weekend car, then get the car that's best at being a weekend car.

And the targa top is another plus. I'm really leaning towards a Vette because of that and the option of navigation. A drop top Camaro might sway me, but who wants to sit around for another 50 years waiting on it to hit the showrooms.

[CJ]

You know what I'd have?




I love the Mustang, I hate the Camaro, but the Challenger just got everything right.  It looks absolutely killer and I love the sound it makes. 

[2o6]

You know what I'd have?




I love the Mustang, I hate the Camaro, but the Challenger just got everything right.  It looks absolutely killer and I love the sound it makes. 

Did you drive the Challenger?

[CJ]

Did you drive the Challenger?

No, but I have driven a 2005 Mustang GT (Beav's, actually).  I've also driven a Magnum.

[SVT_Power]

You know what I'd have?

I love the Mustang, I hate the Camaro, but the Challenger just got everything right.  It looks absolutely killer and I love the sound it makes. 

The challenger is my favorite as well. It's far, far from perfect but it's the best looking imo. I actually can't see out of the damn camaro, barely can see in the stang and same with this thing. But it just looks so good from the outside. Sure it's the slowest of the bunch and probably the worst handling but I'll take it anyway 

[CJ]

They just got it right.  And, as you said, it's far from perfect.  To me, those imperfections make it different than the others.  Not necessarily better, but different.  It's got something they don't.  Hard to put my finger on what that something is.

[SVT666]

They just got it right.  And, as you said, it's far from perfect.  To me, those imperfections make it different than the others.  Not necessarily better, but different.  It's got something they don't.  Hard to put my finger on what that something is.

Gravity.

[CJ]

Gravy.

Yes.