Finally drove a Fifty SS

[Spec]

Very nice car... look-at-me-yellow... rental in Portland, drove it to Salem,
then Gresham.

It picks up really fast. Give it some gas and you're doing 90 in a 45 before
you look down on the speedo. Very fun car... light on its wheels. Feels
good for the most part... handles curves very well. But... It did have a
tendency to sway a bit on straightaways.

Comparing it to my car, my car feels like its on rails... you can hit 120+ in
mine and you have better control than this stock SS. Granted, its a rental
and has probably been driven very hard... but it only had 400+ miles on it,
so it is fairly new.

Further comparing it to mine, mine's no slouch... you're always wondering
how you would do against one of these, well, drive one for a few days.
Aside from the wonders that Hotchkis suspension has done to this 5th gen,
the power in mine is comparable to what I felt with this Fifty SS. I've got
the 'normal' bolt ons on mine with a tune. And at 455hp at the crank for
this fella, and with mine at 420hp to the wheels - it feels very close
despite the more weight on the 5th gen.

It was an A8, mine being an M6. In 4th doing 60+, it feels faster when I
drop the hammer than this A8 felt at a similar speed with similar throttle.
Sure, it'd take mine if the A8 was at a higher gear at 60+... but wow, after
a busy trip for the last couple of days with the plus of being able to feel
out one of these bad boys, I am very satisfied with my 5th gen. A bit more
and a stock Fifty SS would regularly see my dust... :P

The interior definitely felt smaller, almost confining at first... but you get
used to it after some time on the road. Then its just fun as heck,
the interior disappears lol. Its got all the bells and whistles (including the
rear view camera), but didn't care about those tech goodies, I really just
wanted to feel it out.

Anyway, here's the eye candy... gorgeous color this beauty. To me this is
a sports car for sure. Great stock exhaust tone note even though it didn't
have the NPP. That LT1 is definitely a beast.

No pain points except for wanting that suspension to be tighter...
awesome ride, beautiful car, very nice and all that. Even the design grew
on me a little... but........ I think I'll keep mine for a while longer.

[DvKillar]

my '15 has the beginning of the squinty eye look, but the new ones are worse. not a fan. but if it handles better and has more power, who cares!

[JerTM]

I felt the same way when I drove the couple SS' we got in here are work. It felt lighter and easier to control, but it felt a lot slower than mine. Yes I have a very mild cam and all bolt-ons but it should have felt faster as it's a lot lighter. The interior felt too busy to me, and the racer-boy exterior kills it for me.

[Memphis SS]

Good Review, I had a 2011 Camaro SS and ordered a 2017 Camaro SS end of last year. There are pros and cons to both just like any change in model. Only thing I will add I was surprised at the handling comment. To me the Gen 6 feels much tighter at high speed and more attached to the road, Chevy must feel better about it since they raised the top end from 155 to 180 MPH on the coupe. It may have been just the model you had for the day.... Glad you enjoyed the rental

[SlingShot]

I think most of the above reviews are silly, comparing modded 5th to a stock 6th. Come on that's apples to oranges and really doesn't mean much. Stock to stock a 6th will flat out perform a 5th in every way. Before someone says it, looks are subjective.

[G701LE]

Originally Posted by SlingShot

I think most of the above reviews are silly, comparing modded 5th to a stock 6th. Come on that's apples to oranges and really doesn't mean much. Stock to stock a 6th will flat out perform a 5th in every way. Before someone says it, looks are subjective.

+1

[Spec]

I hear you guys in comparing apples to oranges here with a modded ride versus not... its just my opinion and comparison to my ride... not saying one is better than the other. Just my perspective of things...

[justjoshin]

Good review! I actually went check out this ZL1 last week with the idea of trading both our Camaros in on it but after sitting in the drivers seat it was too cramped for me. Beautiful car and great performance though!

[Dragonman]

I sat in a 2017 SS a few weeks ago while I was getting the last of my free oil changes on my 2015 and there was just no way to get head room and maintain the shoulder to wheel and hips to pedal relation I want. If I keep the distance from the pedals I like the seatback has to be so far up my head literally hits the roof. If I set the seatback down some so my head clears the roof I have to move the seat forward to get my shoulders where I want and then my knees hit the bottom of the dash. I like the interior design but it just doesn't fit me and I'm not really that tall.

[Gunmetal Speedster]

Good read Spec! I'm anxious to get in one myself. I don't have a doubt mine is probably faster than a stock 16-17 SS, but they look way better. I believe I have the unpopular opinion when it comes to that

[PalmerGA]

Originally Posted by JerTM

I felt the same way when I drove the couple SS' we got in here are work. It felt lighter and easier to control, but it felt a lot slower than mine. Yes I have a very mild cam and all bolt-ons but it should have felt faster as it's a lot lighter. The interior felt too busy to me, and the racer-boy exterior kills it for me.

Going strictly by "feel", there's no substitute for HP and torque.

[rontammy0]

Originally Posted by Spec

I hear you guys in comparing apples to oranges here with a modded ride versus not... its just my opinion and comparison to my ride... not saying one is better than the other. Just my perspective of things...

Theres nothing wrong with comparing your car in its present condition to a stock 6th gen. After all people are comparing the ride of both cars which i find funny as hell. Oh the 6th gen handles better the then 5 th gen....well no shit. Its a new model and should yet people still feel the need to make it sound like they have uncovered one of earths deep mysteries. Any new model should have improvements over the previous model. Keep giving your opinion and dont listen to people that cant see your take on both cars as just that.....your opinion. Hey for the record.....i dont like the look of the 6th gen staight up...i dont care if people agree or not. If I dont like how something looks ...i dont give a rats ass how quick it is or how it handles.

[Royal Tiger]

^Absolutely!!!

I like the 5th gen much better.

[G701LE]

I think someone with disposable income should take the 5th Gen body and stick it on the 6th Gen chassis.