My Opinion and First Impressions of my CRT '12 2SS

[vroomapunk]

Hopefully these help people looking to buy soon but here are my thoughts on the 5th gen, having picked mine up a few days ago, and put 250 miles on it this weekend. Being a mechanic and detailer, Im a pretty tough and detail oriented critic.

Cons/Common complaints

-Blind spots are worse than my 4th gen, but after 200 miles, Im already used to them. But the windshield, back glass, and windows are all really small.

-Visors are useless, they cover absolutley none of the side window.

-Cant see the headlight control knob cause the steering wheel covers it up, no matter how you adjust the steering wheel, when the wheels are pointed straight, I cant see it, but you get used to the 4 settings on it in no time.

-Boston Acoustics stereo is just "fine", even after tweaking the EQ.

-Sirius XM reception is worse in this car than any other car ive had srius in.

-Leather does seem like it will wear out quickly, but I think most cars that compete with the Camaro will have similar leather quality.

-Halos arent as bright as Id thought theyd be, only sort of see them during the day.

-Exhaust makes essentially no noise, unfortunately, I was hoping for a little bit more rumble from the factory.

-Back seat is equally as small as my 4th gen, but i had a person back there and up front this weekend and my passengers both sat comfortably, besides the rear headroom.

- For piece of mind, I would like to have a spare tire, although the trunk opening wouldnt be big enough to put my flat tire/rim in anyway if I had to change it.

- Gas cap is on the passenger side, opposite of my 4th gen that I got used to, not a con for all but itll take getting used to for me.

- Also, the fuel door color seems to be the slightest bit off in matching the rest of the car.

Pros/Observations
-Car is amazing. Period. Technology, the ride, comfortability, looks, etc. Its much better put together than most other cars Ive owned/driven. Everyone Ive seen so far loves it, and Ive taken it all over, literally no one has a negative thing to say about it.

-CRT is amazing in person, I cant say how much I love this color. I was a detailer, and it rivals any other car company out there, looks wise. It never goes flat like the non-metallic colors will in certain light or shadows. Its always deep and I cant take my eyes off it.

-Havent gotten nasty with it yet to know how fast it is, and havent messed with the competitive mode, etc to really see what it can do, hasnt impressed me from a dead stop yet, but it really pulls once its already moving. But again, letting the engine break in before I go nuts with it.

-Two things I didnt think Id care about, that I cannot live without now:
HUD and handsfree bluetooth. The HUD is just too cool, and I never realized how much Id actually take my attention off the road to check the speedo, tach, radio, etc, its just awesome.
I also never realized how much more comfortable it is to drive without having to hold the phone to my ear, and how its a lot easier to turn your head to see where you are going, etc without dealing with a cell phone.

-I planned to do a bunch of things the week I got it, but once I got it, I realized its such a nice car, Im not worried about painting the trashcans(mufflers) black, or dying the stitching, or wiring the drl/halo harness, racing stripes. Its just a drop dead gorgeous car as is, and im sure all those mods will come in time. CRT is so nice that I worry about putting stripes cause its a crime to cover up such beauty.

-Gets the same gas mileage so far as my 4th gen V6 lol.

-The exterior build quality is great, body panel alignment, paint match, none of them rattle or have too much play in them. Front bumper moves a bit too much when you push on the grille area for my taste, but its a camaro not a bentley.





-Its super quiet inside, very well insulated/sealed.

-Seats are really really comfortable. Im 6'2" and I have NO problems fitting and still have a lot of headroom left.

-The beige color of the interior is really light, almost off white (which I like)

-All of the lights are cool, inside and out, ABL, the red rings/accents on controls and gauges, tailights, HID, Halos, even the turn signals are cool.

-Backup camera in the rearview mirror is also just plain awesome.

-I love the 2012 steering wheel, just need to paint the bowtie black or dark red, but the feel of it is nice.




I think the car is worth the money, at all the trim levels. Just a great car all around, that Im sure will leave me with perma-grin forever.
I know I appreciated reading what people honestly thought of the car when I was shopping so hopefully someone else finds this info useful!

[Blue Menace]

Nice write-up. I tend to agree with most everything listed. One I'd add is having an oh sh!t handle on the passenger side. Nit-picky, yes, but it would still be nice.

[SSSugar]

One question tho. You have a SS/RS? So you have the DRL and there is no need for the halos to be on during the day. Set your headlight contol knob to auto and you'll never have to touch it again. To be honest, I'd forgotten there even was one!! LOL

[vroomapunk]

I want the halos on all day! I like the way it looks more than the fog lights

[SSSugar]

I agree, they do look cool. But using the drl's is so convenient.

[vroomapunk]

Ur right. I know I probably wont be using that knob much anymore, except when I want the headlights on in the rain during the day or something. It just bothered me that I couldnt ever see it lol

[Frank in MD]

I'm curious about why you need to see the light control? You know where it is, turn on the halos when you leave the house, if you forget to turn 'em off when you get out, the chime will alert you. I don't understand why it's an issue?

[vroomapunk]

Originally Posted by Frank in MD

I'm curious about why you need to see the light control? You know where it is, turn on the halos when you leave the house, if you forget to turn 'em off when you get out, the chime will alert you. I don't understand why it's an issue?

Because its got four settings, and I cant see them to know which setting its on, Im not outside the car to see which sets of lights were on. I now know that knob all the way to the right is the headlights, one to the left is halos, one more is auto, then one more is auto-off. But I didnt for the first couple days and it bothered me. Ive never seen a car where you just couldnt see a knob that had multiple settings without having to move your whole body.

It is a design flaw, everyone can adapt, but its silly to have to, all of those should be visible. Its things that people will notice when they first get the car, but you forgot about since youve owned it for a while. Im ocd, and just stating what has bothered me. Wasnt taking shots at the car, but not being able to see the knob isnt ideal.

[Frank in MD]

The car is on auto lights by defualt. Turn once to the right for the halos, no design flaw at all. True, that I am very used to them, been around the 5th gens for 4 years now, but I've only had mine about a month and a half.

I understood your point, I was just trying to get where you were coming from is all. Congratulations, BTW!

[vroomapunk]

Originally Posted by Comrando

I'm glad you are enjoying your new Camaro

I hear you on the headlight switch. I run the Halos for daytime rain otherwise I'll let the DRLs wear out.
At least there is a dash indicator.

For the exhaust, the L99 is a bit muted compared to the LS3 because of the AFM. There are quite a few members with after market exhausts that say it sounds like .... when the AFM kicks in.

Personally I like it quiet, from what I read it doesn't cost any power.

I don't like it when cars make a lot of noise and they are only going as fast as everyone else. Ah, the kids today

Yeah, I like it to rumble a little, not scream all the time lol. And I am definitely enjoying it, cant stand going to work and having to just look at it outside from the window lol, I want to drive

[AZCamaroFan]

may not be more room in the backseat than the 3rd and 4thgens, but the difference is you sit up higher, so you can see out, as opposed to feeling like you're in a hole in the last couple gens.

[vroomapunk]

I agree, sitting in the back of my brothers 4th gen I couldnt see anything. But it takes away your headroom, didnt buy a camaro for the backseat anyway lol

[Fraxum]

I started out bashing the visors too. But weirdly they work when you need them. Just the visors needed for a chopped top.

[vroomapunk]

Originally Posted by Fraxum

I started out bashing the visors too. But weirdly they work when you need them. Just the visors needed for a chopped top.

Yeah, it's just where the sun shines thru near the back of the side window on the way to work, and the visor only reaches halfway down the length of the glass. And only about 3-4 inches tall, it can still work better on the windshield.