CAMARO6 - The Turbo 4 Camaro (Our First Drive Review)

The First of the Best

The 2016 Camaro LT 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinder…what a mouthful. I wonder if some on-track, and on-road driving time can help me shorten the description for this car?

To find out, Chevrolet was generous enough to invite myself and other very lucky automotive media types out to Pahrump, Nevada for a short course track experience of the entry level Camaro at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch. Then we were surprised with the opportunity to drive a total of 180 miles out across Death Valley in a selection of Turbo 4, V6, and V8 coupes and convertibles.

This was the program: We would arrive at the track early in the morning, and first drive a 5th generation Camaro V6 automatic around the track. Then, we would drive Ford’s entry level in this segment: the V6 Mustang. After that experience [several minutes of my life I’ll never get back], we would then drive a 6th gen turbo four automatic, followed by the manual model. The track was a short circuit, probably about a minute or so (we didn’t keep time because it was more of a “for the feel” event), and fairly technical. A couple hours later, we’d be allowed to select a car and travel about 90 miles to Furnace Creek Resort, a literal oasis among the desert terrain.

Every time I drive a 5th gen V6, I’m immediately reminded that it is a very fine car. A little soft, a little heavy, and lot of roll around the bends…but it will still provide enough confidence for the driver going around a track to have fun with it. Don’t forget, this was a game-changer when it was released, surpassing the horsepower rating of Ford’s V8 Mustang for the first year by 6, shedding once and for all the stigma of the boring, awful “secretary’s car”.

The Mustang V6 was a 2016 model year, and Camaro Team was so confident that their car would eat Dearborn’s car alive, they brought it to the track for us to compare side by side. Actually, I’m very glad they did because it allows for a direct comparison without one’s memory playing tricks.

Remember that there’s a bit of a difference in comparisons between the non-V8 trims of Camaro and Mustang. Chevrolet is pitting their turbo four cylinder against Ford’s V6, and the Camaro’s optional V6 vs the Mustang’s Ecoboost 2.3L.

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ON THE TRACK

The Mustang felt quicker out of the gate than the last generation Camaro. And the throttle felt a bit more responsive…I assume it’s an aggressive throttle progression map; lending a feeling of “speed” to the driver. But that’s about as good as it gets…The West track at Spring mountain includes a couple of quick elevation changes, and tight bends. A car must be able to turn in confidently and control unwanted body motions with finesse in order to tackle such an environment. Succeed at this; the Mustang does not. As I drove it in full-auto mode, the transmission was searching for gears every time I lifted off the throttle to turn in, so when it came time to accelerate out of a corner, it was in too high a gear. During a dramatic dip in the track, Ford’s entry skittered and jostled around in a decidedly non-refined manner. And it could have been my eyes, but I swear once we hit about 70-75mph, the hood started to shake and flutter.

Enter the 6th generation Camaro LT 2.0L turbo four cylinder model. I knew it was going to be good. How could it not? It weighs darn near the same as a Corvette, has a flat turbo-induced torque curve…and if the V6 and SS chassis tuning is any indication, it was going to be a joy to use on the track.

I was right. Acceleration is very nice. For reference, Chevy points out that the 5.4 sprint to 60 the four cylinder model can achieve is the same as what a 1971 Chevelle 454 could do. The automatic transmission is crisp, and very smart. If in full auto mode, the car recognizes you’re wringing it out, and will inform you on the DIC that “sport shifting is enabled”, which means that it’ll hold lower gears longer so you can accelerate out of a corner in the gear you want to be in. And if you hold a higher rpm, this relatively small engine maintains a good amount of grunt to get you out of a corner in a quick way.

Turn in is tight and controlled. Remember that dip I mentioned that made the Mustang feel like one of the wheels momentarily detached? The Camaro gripped through the same spot like a slot car…at the speeds the four cylinder can generate, the Goodyear all-season tires just wouldn’t let go of the pavement. Somehow, the chassis team has managed to duplicate the lovely neutral balance of the SS on the 4-cylinder car. Although the car has more body roll than I would have liked, it’s a controlled motion that doesn’t upset the car; or make the driver feel like he or she is about to lose control. The brakes bite hard, too, and since the car doesn’t weigh a lot at all; the car sheds speed with confidence.

The manual transmission adds a bit of pep to the character of the car…offering slightly lower weight and putting a bit more power to the ground, it really helps the car feel like a tight-knit, built-for-going-fast package. The clutch is very easy, and the shifter is smooth with just the right amount of feedback when searching for a gear.

A few things I don’t care for. First, the most obvious one: the sound. Of course, for a four cylinder, it does sound good. It’s got a nice bark, and pleasant tone…I just don’t like the sound of four cylinders, in general. In addition, when you put your foot back down after letting off the throttle for a turn or something, I felt a brief moment of lag while the turbo spools back up. It is very brief, but it’s there. And finally, the location of reverse on the 6 speed is up and to the left…and you have to put a generous amount of force into the shifter to find that gate…I ended up in 1st gear about four times before I figured it out. I’ll call that driver error.

I went out on track several more times because - and I mean this, sincerely - the cars were genuinely fun to drive around the track. Whereas the SS, 1LE, and ZL1 models of old and what we’ve got so far can induce a bit of fear, because of the speeds and G’s produced…the four cylinder does none of that. You feel like you’re going faster than you are, and it’s all confident, solid, tight, and balanced which translates into a true joy to drive hard.

It’s great to see out of, too. They’ve shrunk the A-pillars in the 6th-gen redesign to improve forward visibility, and I never once felt as though I was searching for a cone or corner hidden behind a pillar or mirror, etc. Once you get your seating position settled, the only thing you I needed to be extra cautious with was merging right, out of the pits on to the track…the B-pillar and small rear quarter window don’t help a lot, there. But it’s not impossible to do…adjust your mirrors, and be aware. Speaking of seating positions, there’s a lot of flexibility and room in this car to put your body and head right where they need to be for a comfortable, confident experience.

ON THE ROAD
Then they let us loose on Death Valley in 16 convertibles and coupes of all different variations. Some were 1SS/1LTs…some were 2SS/2LTs…some were V6s, some were Turbo 4’s…I chose a yellow 4 cylinder turbocharged car.

I’ve been in a road trip in an SS, you can read my impressions here. I had the chance to drive the V6 Camaro around the Grand Prix track at Belle Isle, and I own a 2014 1LE, right now. So, what was most interesting to me was the new four-cylinder car. Could this sporty coupe that was so at home on the track be just as talented out on the open desert roads? How would it cope with the extra weight of the convertible top?

As it turns out; the answer is equally as impressive as its performance on the road course. The car is just so much fun to drive! There’s plenty of passing power in any gear fourth and lower. (I had some fun with another journalist in a white four-cylinder coupe out where there was nothing to hit…FYI: the triple-digit speedometer works just fine.)

As for any concerns about compromising the structure of the car by chopping the top of a perfectly good coupe off, worry not, wind-in-your-hair fans…There was not a hint of shaking, flexing, or instability anywhere. In fact, it feels so similar to the coupe, the thought crossed my mind on a couple occasions during this trip to sneak out on to the track with the convertible and see how it would do! But, alas, I had to make do with corner carving around the mesas and rock piles littered along our route.

The star of the trip though, is the magnificent new convertible top. I feel like it is truly a feat of engineering; especially on a car at this price point. The ragtop design and operation is a class exclusive technology…and class leading, according to Chevy. I think anybody who’s used to a conventional soft top will never want to go back again after experiencing this thing. It maintains much of the coupe’s profile, it feels of very high quality construction (no sagging, looseness, etc), and it looks so good when put down with the hard lid. The deck lid design is so clean and executed beautifully, as well, with a neat little “Camaro” logo in between the rear seats.

You can raise the top, or take it down at 30 miles per hour and lower speeds. I tried twice, and it made me chuckle to myself like a child, as though I was stealing a cookie from the jar on the top shelf. You shouldn’t be able to do this! I don’t think the poor woman driving behind me knew what to think when, as we were puttering through a construction zone, suddenly the deck lid lifted up into the air like some obnoxious spoiler, and out of the depths of the car came a black fabric top…AT 30 MPH!!! (Now that I think about it, the car is yellow…was it transforming?) It’s fairly fast, too – and there’s no latches or handholds to deal with. Just one button does it all.

One thing struck me as odd, though…the top could lift 50% of the way (effectively creating a parachute), and since you are, in fact, driving while pressing the button; if you accidentally speed up to above 30 mph, the action of the top halts completely. I breached 31 by mistake, and the top wouldn’t continue it’s process.

I’m not a convertible guy – but you who are receiving your orders in a few weeks will be in seventh heaven. They are so wonderful.

Chevrolet has an expansive portfolio of performance cars competing (and dominating) the market. Leading the pack is the Z06 Corvette with awe-inspiring levels of handling, and nuclear levels of speed. On the other end of the spectrum, solidly placed in the “performance” category is the new 2.0L Camaro. But make no mistake: There is nothing “base model” about this entry-level car. I think many skeptics will be impressed…and I think many owners will have a case of chronic “permagrin”.

And I think, maybe, that answers my original question: how can I summarize the 2.0L Camaro? The first entry in the best series of performance cars on the market.

I’d like to express a big “Thank You” to Team Camaro for flying me out to Nevada for this event. Al, Todd, Cheryl, and Monte are top-notch as always…and there are many fresh faces working on the car I met as well. Also making a surprise appearance was General Motors president, Dan Amman; and GM North American president, Mark Reuss. It is inspiring, as an enthusiast, to see the combination of expertise, passion, and dedication all of these people bring to the car as a whole, from the top down (see what I did there?). These are good times for Camaro enthusiasts, for sure!

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...Also, apparently, this week was the "10 year bloom" in the desert...these flowers never pop up, and there were people parking all over the side of the roads to get out and take pictures.

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