Z284ever

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/new...let-camaro-rs/



2010 Chevrolet Camaro RS
view video Better than: A lot of other pony cars
But not as good as: Bumblebee
GRM Bang For The Buck Index: 83.77

Other staff views:
David S. Wallens Editorial Director:

While out for a drive last night we passed a group of young boys. The youngest eagerly pointed at the Camaro as we drove by, obviously yelling something to his friends. I was impressed that someone born after Camaro production had stopped seven years ago still seemed excited about the car. Or he thought we were Bumblebee.

Okay, some initial impressions based on a quick drive:

Nice, meaty steering wheel. I know it sounds trivial, but I like a good wheel. The Camaro blows away the Challenger here.

I worry a bit about quality control. Our car is about to lose an A-pillar cover.

Lotta plastic inside. The CTS-V has nicer interior plastics, so we know that GM can do it.

The V6 is nice—smooth and torquey. Too bad it doesn’t emit anything close to a tough exhaust note. Nice to see a good mpg rating, too.

The interior was obviously done by a designer and not an engineer. Not much head room and some big over-the-shoulder blind spots. Even the rearview mirror is bigger than needs; as a result, it blocks forward visibility.

I know that 20-inch wheels look cool, but they transmit NVH to the occupants. If only the car could be 7/8 as big and have normal-sized wheels and tires.

I like the controls. They feel nice and look cool. Hate to say this, but the HVAC controls felt as nice as those in the latest Kia that I drove. These days, that’s a compliment.

I’m torn on the whole retro thing. It’s neat that Big 3 aren’t ignoring their roots, but it’s a bummer that they can’t do a modern take on the pony car.




Joe Gearin Associate Publisher:

Call me a homer, but I can’t help but root for GM. Fortunately, the new Camaro does more things right than wrong. Sure, the car is massive (it absolutely dwarfs the ‘67-‘69 original) and heavy. It also feels big from behind the wheel—much bigger than the not-so-petite Mustang. Plus, it’s difficult to see out of the narrow windshield and partially blind 3/4 quarter view. The view over the shoulder isn’t as bad as the completely blind 370Z, but it isn’t great either. Locating the corners of the car is difficult when driving. Sure, you may get accustomed to the restricted view, but you will never forget that you’re driving a seriously large machine.

Speaking of driving, this car moves down the road in a refined manner never before witnessed in a Camaro. There are no squeaks or rattles, the ride is supple without being sloppy, and the steering transmits a decent amount of feel. The seats are comfortable, although taller folks may want to sit before they fall in love, as there seems to be a severe lack of head (or helmet) room for taller folks. Our tester was a sunroof-equipped model, so maybe the hard-tops will be more noggin friendly. Some of the other staffers complained about misfitted trim pieces, but the interior seems to be up to par with the car’s Mustang/Challenger competition. I was actually pleasantly surprised with most of the interior materials, although some of the switches are horrendously cheap feeling.

Our car was equipped with massive wheels and tires, so smokey burnouts on dry pavement weren’t really in the cards. In the wet, though, the V6 has more than enough juice to incinerate those big meats. The six-pot engine doesn’t seem to produce much power until 3000 rpm or so, but once there it has more than ample grunt for an entry-level pony car. Keep in mind, this over 300-horsepower car is the slowest, least powerful Camaro available.

Personally I like the look of the new Camaro, although I wish it was 5/8 scale. To me there isn’t an ugly line on the car, but the mass is intimidating. This car is a huge step up from the V6 Camaros of old, as it should be. With a third pedal, this could be a darn entertaining car. As it sits, it’s a really nice cruiser—or a daily driver with a bunch of style for not a lot of bucks.





Scott Lear Club Editor:

The Camaro, at least in V6 automatic trim, is a decent cruising machine, has lots of styling touches inside and out, and looks very sharp in dark blue. I liked the HIDs on the RS package, and the sticky Pirellis were nice, but I could have done without the massive 20-inch wheels that are part of the same package. The suspension felt a bit overworked on bumpy roads.

Having never spent time with an older Camaro, I can’t feel any particular nostalgia for the design choices they made. I’m sure some people will dig the gauge cluster that’s forward of the gear selector, for example, but it seems to me like a pretty big visual gap from the windshield to glance at your transmission temperature.

The best average fuel economy we saw was about 23mpg, and that was after we reset it on the highway. At one point the average economy read 15.0mpg: pretty horrible for a V6. A 300hp car could be a lot of fun, but this one weighs so much that it’s kinda pokey even in a straight line. It understeers at the limit, and the steering ratio is too slow for serious handling work. The automatic isn’t quite as intelligent as it could be, but you do have the option of picking your own gears with buttons on the back of the wheel (the paddle elements are just for show).

Then come the bitter complaints: There’s so little headroom that I don’t think I could autocross one of these. While trying to remove the charger for a windshield-mount GPS, the entire center console (including those gauges) popped completely free. It popped right back in, sure, but usually you need a screwdriver—not a cigarette adapter—to disassemble a car. Visibility is the same gun-slit awful as many other retro-inspired cruisers, and the trunk opening is laughably small.

Hopefully we’ll get a V8 manual soon, because this one was far from impressive. Credit to Joe for performing a successful burnout, however.






JG Pasterjak Production/Art Director:

I want to like it so much, but I can’t. It’s just not there yet. It has cool design elements, but they seem to exist apart from one another, and come together to form a car that looks not like it was inspired by the first Camaro, but poorly copied from it. The steering is slow, but communicates better than the Challenger, so that’s a plus.

I guess we’re just spoiled by so many good cars these days. There’s just no excuse to build a car this mediocre. I’m simply not buying excuses like “but it’s not a sports car” or “it’s a pony car” for it being universally anonymous once you jump behind the wheel.

The new Mustang isn’t perfect, but there’s still something abut driving it that makes you smile. The Camaro and Challenger have tried to get by on their good looks, and it takes more than that to succeed.

91_z28_4me

Just to highlight a few things:

That last line perfectly sums up the 5th gen to me.

Z284ever

Same here.....

3.........2............1..........INCOMING!!!

JasonD

LOL, I think this is overall a fair review. Consider the intent of the manufacturer and the people reviewing it.

Brandon_Lutz

That is my biggest gripe with the car interior. The model I want is a 1SS.

First the gauge package doesn't even come standard with that model unless you want to pay more for a 2SS, which I cannot afford.

If you want the gauges you can buy them from GM or a dealer but then have to pay a GM Dealer to program them in.

If you don't go that route, your stuck with dummy lights.

I hope in the future refreshes of the car, the GM includes some form of temp gauges STANDARD in the dash cluster. It's a sin that it's not already included.

My 2003 S-10 came with the water, oil, and transmission temp gauges STANDARD with the 5 Speed option. No sense that the 2010 Camaro should not have such an option.

I know it was done for nostalgia reasons and that is why they put the cluster in front of the center column, but the guy is right, it is a huge visual gap from the dash to the center console to check them.

I could live with that though, if the gauge packs came standard with the car on all stick shift models, or even all V8 Models.

2010_5thgen

has anyone here, who doesnt like the 5th gen , drove one yet?

JakeRobb

You can add the gauges on to a 1SS as a separate option.

guionM

Believe it or not, that last line didn't bother me.

The Camaro is the size it is because of necessity. The ONLY possible alternative would simply have been NOT to make the Camaro. The Camaro turned out damn good, and GM is selling the begezus out of them (in case you haven't noticed, when Camaro etched past Mustang in sales, Camaro became America's best selling sports coupe... and will remain so as long as it stays ahead of Mustang). So the whole weight-size issue that used to be moot is now pretty much erased since the public is buying them up.

A far and away more disturbing issue is the quality and durability of the interior.

An "A" pillar cover that's about to come off?

A console top that simply snaps out of place accidently?

These are brand new, right-out-of-the-factory new cars. What's going to happen as they get a little mileage and a little wear under the belt?!

The Dodge Challenger's interior isn't a visual feast, but at least it's screwed together pretty well. Mustang's interior is as solid and bolted together as anything out there.

It's not going to be good news if a GM car (especially, a car that's become their star player) has an interior that starts looking pretty ratty and falling apart after only a few years.

This may be a "Tell Fritz" issue.

Z284ever

Whhhoooo. Could start a whole new thread just on that.

Ed 2001 SS

Hasn't that been done already? Like eleventy-billion times?

Z284ever

Exactly. So no need to continually apologize and explain for it then. It is what it is.....

Z28Wilson

Yeah, that kind of stuff is simply unacceptable. The interior design is polarizing, I get that, but materials and fit/finish seem to be marginal, and that's what is most disappointing considering how far GM has come in this area.

super83Z

HAZ-Matt

Was this a real off the showroom car they reviewed or a tired press vehicle? That can make a pretty big difference.

2010_5thgen

if it were a press vehicle it would have more of an advantage over the showroom car. the press vehicle would have gotten broke in. the showroom wouldnt reach full potential yet. cars dont really get "tired" like people just from being used for a few months.