2010 Camaro Review Compilation

[Tran]

Originally Posted by Fredman_Vice

The Toronto Star had one this morning. Not sure if someone has posted it already.

http://www.wheels.ca/reviews/article/521022

Added! Thanks.

[blckWS6TA]

hate to be a downer, but those numbers on the SS suck. My 02 TA ran 12.9 stock with 100 less HP.

[MarkSS]

Originally Posted by blckWS6TA

hate to be a downer, but those numbers on the SS suck. My 02 TA ran 12.9 stock with 100 less HP.

Stock with what for tires? My 99 SS ran 12.9 with a cam, LS6 intake and 4.10s on street tires at normal pressure, which is how MT and others run them (and they don't powershift). On drag radials, obviously it would have been much faster. Also, it was a cold day (under 40 degrees) when all of these cars were tested so I am sure that 60 foot times were not too
good. Magazine times posted for LS1 Camaros and TransAms were around 13.5.


From MT:
"That cold, dense air boosts the observed engine performance, but our weather-correction program backs most of that out (increasing the time increments by roughly 4%). What our corrections can't account for is the drop in tire grip at these near-freezing temps. Summer and aggressive all-season tires (like these) become noticeably harder below 45 degrees, and even after lurid tire-warming burnouts, the manual V-6 and both V-8s remained very challenging to launch. We still managed to achieve Chevy's target numbers, but there may be another tenth or two to be had when we run them on a warmer day."

If my math is correct, a 4% increase to get to 13.0 means the manual trans SS ran an uncorrected 12.5 with limited traction.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by blckWS6TA

hate to be a downer, but those numbers on the SS suck. My 02 TA ran 12.9 stock with 100 less HP.

was that in Michigan in the middle of winter? Or in Texas in the summer?

[stovt001]

You know, I noticed an improvement in the interior quality of a pre-production (90+%) Malibu I sat in and one actually on the dealer's lots. We just might see better interior materials on our cars. Just a thought...

[Supermans]

Originally Posted by swazworth

popular mechanics http://www.popularmechanics.com/blog...s/4309166.html

They wanted it even more evil.. They need a hose from the engine block into the cabin to make it more noisy perhaps..An easy thing to do..

[stovt001]

So after reading these reviews, here's my general impression:

Good surprises:
-Brakes. Wow. Talk about killing GM's figure of 125 feet, bringing it down into the 107-110 foot range, and as expected the Brembos are nicely fade resistant. I'm very impressed!
-Automatic transmission. It seems they all really liked it a lot. I didn't even know it had a sport mode. I'm very, very tempted to get an automatic now, though I hate paying the extra money and I do want the LS3. Man, yet one more difficult decision.
-Manual shifter. While there were some complaints of slightly long, slow throws, it seems the main impression is that the shifter is very precise and clicks into gear easily, which matters most to me.

As expected:
-Acceleration and Handling. Long before this I called 0-60 at 4.7 seconds. Sounds like I nailed it. Some of the V6 times were a little slow, but I certainly don't think 0-60 in 6 seconds or slightly less for the V6 would be too difficult.
-Interior design. Mixed, as I expected. Like me, it seems the reviewers appreciated that it looked unique and was certainly not a parts bin job like the Challenger, but some things do seem to go for style over function. Ultimately, it does give you a sense of occasion and has a personality, which is worth some inconvenience.
-Ride. The Zeta platform is really stable and planted. That will certainly make up for perceived heaviness when going through turns.

Unpleasant surprises:
-Interior view. OK this shouldn't have been a surprise as some people who sat in it said so, but it really seems unanimous that it feels tank like in there. I prefer a feeling of openness, so I'm gonna have to sit in it to see for myself. I hope I feel differently than the reviewers

Question marks:
-Steering. The reviews generally indicate very communicative, direct steering that is also too light. That seems very, very odd since GM steering is usually dead and numb but heavy. I prefer my steering on the heavy side but I also like it to be communicative, so this could go either way. I'm intrigued.
-Steering wheel. Some said it was uncomfortable, but one said as long as you hold it at 10 and 2 you should be fine, and that's how I hold it. We'll see
-Weight perception. The G8 was said to feel smaller in the turns than it really was, and the early reviews of the IVER said the same, but now they're saying the opposite. I really wish I could take one out on a winding road or on a track, because I don't think I'll be able to tell on a normal test drive.
-Interior quality. The main complaint is hard plastics as is the norm for GM. Now I'm not against hard plastics per se. My mom's Mazda3 has hard plastics, but they're very durable, have good tactile feel, and seem to be put together very well. If the Camaro is like that, great. On the other hand, the hard plastics on my Cobalt seem irritatingly rough and really thin and hollow, like a smart rap could punch a hole in the dash. Also, I've experienced some soft plastics that feel like the car was left in the heat too long and is melting. So here's hoping for a more Mazda type feel.

Edmunds says they'll add a Camaro to their LT fleet soon, so hopefully these questions will be addressed in more detail.

[UCF w00t]

Good summary. I agree with most of what you said, but the interior view wasn't really a surprise to me. I don't think it feels like a tank but it's definitely cosy.

Check out the pop mechanics review he added recently. They loved the suspension. And said that "this is as good as plastic gets" in regards to the plastic in the interior. Sounds like your Mazda (I've never been in the Mazda so I can't compare).

I feel like I'm chasing you around trying to convince you to buy the car. But I'm really not heh.

The more reviews I read, the more I like this car. One really surprising bit from pop mechanics...

The V8 version starts at $30,995 and the V6 at $22,995—tremendous bang for little green. It's hard to argue with this car's performance, style or refinement. Yes, refinement. In fact, the Camaro is almost too polished. It's abilities and confidence-inspiring nature are impressive, but we finished our time with the car wondering if the transformation from street fighter to gentleman left some of the soul out. Maybe we're overly nostalgic for older cars that were never this good. It's hard to knock a car with so few faults, but we want a Camaro with a little bad-ass in it. And in our brief time with the new one, we didn't find that. There's hope, however. Check out the hood budge. It provides plenty of room for the Corvette ZR1's supercharger. We bet 600 or more horsepower would make it plenty evil.

Did you ever expect to read that about a Camaro? And I have to disagree... maybe I'm just not used to badass cars as much as they are but the SS seems extremely high on the badass scale. It was the refinement that has worried me but it really sounds like the "21st century sports car" rhetoric was more factual than not.

[stovt001]

Yeah, I read the Pop Mechanics review after this whole thing, and their note about the plastic was exactly what I was hoping for. As long as it feels nice and solid, and has a good texture, and the stuff I actually touch often (steering wheel, shifter, armrest) is soft or leather covered, I'm definitely ok with that. My Cobalt's plastic flexes very noticeably, and like I said I swear any moment now I'll punch a jagged hole right through it. Yes, the Pop Mechanics and Cars.com reviews changed a lot of my views for me. I'll still have to sit in and drive the car, but I'm almost back to being where I was before I read Edmunds, R&T, C&D, and Jalopnik. And yes, for me the refinement was never in question. Add that to the list of "As expected". Zeta is great.

[TeamChevy]

Here's one from Candian Driver:

http://www.canadiandriver.com/2009/0...let-camaro.htm

[Tran]

Originally Posted by TeamChevy

Here's one from Candian Driver:

http://www.canadiandriver.com/2009/0...let-camaro.htm

Added. Thanks!

[StarkyLuv]

MotorTrend video review:

[renderinfo]

Automotive Rhythms - http://www.automotiverhythms.com/tes...hevyCamaro.php

[stovt001]

Originally Posted by StarkyLuv

MotorTrend video review:

Good video. Yes, their drivers look like they're a little bit better than the Edmunds drivers. Both cars looked real good in the figure 8.