If you are looking for a car with the speed and handling of a top European exotic, well you can get it with the Camaro. At almost half the price of a Porsche you might not have the prestige or get the looks, but you will have all the same power and handling of Europe’s best.
My test car was the 2013 Chevy Camaro SS Convertible with optional two-tone leather seats and the Hurst short throw shifter. I have to admit the car came pretty well-equipped before you added any real options. About all that could be added were fancy floor mats and an array of stripes that made one even more susceptible to a policeman’s eye. Trust me, with a car this fast drawing attention is just what you don’t want to do when you might be driving a little more than the speed limit.
Jumping into the Camaro, you find very comfortable front seats and rears that are for short trips only. Everything on my test car was well finished at top quality, something that you didn’t find on Camaro’s from the past. All the controls were easy to find and use plus an easy reach. My only beef was the tachometer and speedometer, which were mounted on an angle, were not easy to read at a glance. Add to the fact that the extra gauges were mounted on the console, which was low in a driver’s line-of-sight.
To combat the hard to see tachometer and speedometer, Chevy engineers have given the Camaro a “Heads Up Display.” This little gadget projects a digital image of the tachometer and speedometer up onto the bottom of the windshield right in front of the driver’s line of sight. It not only worked, but worked well as I, at no time, didn’t know how fast I was going or the engine’s speed.
As for truck space on the Camaro, well it’s about the same as past models, pretty small. With the convertible roof that folds into the trunk area, there is even less space in there but as we all know, you don’t buy a Camaro to carry more than a light trip to the grocery store.
It is not often I describe a car’s acceleration as fast, but the Camaro’s 0 to 100kph is well under the 10-second mark. So, if you tend to go fast, watch out because it is very easy to exceed the speed limit as this car is so much fun to drive fast. I did find that the optional Hurst performance shifter was a little too stiff for my liking, but others who have driven the car love it. If you drive a smaller sports car with a smooth shifter, you will find this manual Hurst shifter much stiffer.
Now on twisty roads, the Camaro is a real treat, as it grips the road surface like it is almost glued to the road. With 426hp and 420lbs of torque, the car has no problem climbing any hill or mountain roads with ease and still making it fun to drive. The steering I found was heavy but still gave a good feel of the road, which was just right. Now I have to say I was impressed with handling in the rain, as the traction control worked perfectly not allowing all that power from the 6.2L V8 to get out of hand.
The Camaro has always been a car that brings out a lot of emotions to car enthusiasts everywhere. Some love it and some find it just too much, for me well I just don’t know, but it was a lot of fun.
By Glen Konorowski
