"doodon2whls" (doodon2whls)
08/13/2013 at 00:33 • Filed to: oppo reviews, camaro, test drive, rental car
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"doodon2whls" (doodon2whls)
08/13/2013 at 00:33 • Filed to: oppo reviews, camaro, test drive, rental car | 1
| 19 |
Imagine my surprise when I spotted the unique tail lights of a 2014 Camaro in the line of otherwise beige appliance rental cars in the aisle - I quickened my pace to claim dibs on the Camaro. I gave the car a quick walk around… Temp tags and 465 miles on the ticker - all mine.
(Please pardon the potato camera (Samsung G-CG) photos – I wasn’t planning to land a car worthy of a review on this trip, and the gloomy weather doesn’t help. Thanks to Alex Murel for the headline image with the badge.)
Exterior: 6/10
I’ve always had a hard time grocking the Camaro styling. Sure, I get the cartoon-like exaggerated style necessary for the ‘muscle car’ scene, but I wasn’t feeling it – meh. Maybe it was the ‘Ashen Gray’ paint or dreary Nashville weather. Props on the aggressive front clip, and overall proportions. Demerits on the fake louvers on the rear quarter and the awkward trunk entry. Parallel parking this 6’4” wide car was more difficult than it should have been thanks to the wide haunches and narrow side-view mirrors. Outward visibility is terrible – no surprises here.
Interior: 6/10
OK, granted it’s a rental car so I can understand the standard-grade surface materials, but the interior doesn’t feel appropriately proportioned/synthesized. I couldn’t get the seat/wheel/pedals adjusted to the right configuration to make me feel like I was ‘comfortable’.
Acceleration: 7/10
The 323HP mill wastes no time letting you know it’s ready for action. The aggressive start-up burble and quick throttle response are right on point. Whacking open the throttle results in a swift and spirited sprint above unlawful speeds. Despite it’s heft, the Camaro moves out…
Check out the interesting integrated cylinder head and exhaust manifold...
Braking: 7/10
The brakes on the 2014 Camaro V6 are damn good. Unfortunately, they suffer from slight overboost which results in a grabby pedal feel. Considering how new the car is, they were grabbier than I would have expected (green pads with minimal bedding-in). Still, they shed some serious speed off of the 3900 lb car (including driver) in a hurry.
Ride: 7/10
I am thankful that the Detroit automakers have tightened up the suspension on their late-model cars. Long gone are the floaty feeling cars that would porpoise down the highway. The Camaro suspension calibration is taught and controls body motion well, but there is some impact harshness transmitted through the chassis into the cabin. It’s a fine balance. I am guessing that the entry level Camaro is devoid of extra sound deadening found on the higher trim levels. I would have expected more ride comfort considering the 1LT has 18” wheels with 245/55R18 tires wrapped around them.
Handling: 6/10
Granted it started to rain (downpour) shortly after I hit the road and I couldn’t really fully explore the handling performance envelope of the 1LT Camaro. However, I can tell you that the steering was a little slow on turn-in in the dry and made the car feel heavier than it’s sub-4000 lb curb weight. The Camaro handled the heavy rain with aplomb.
Gearbox: 6/10
Why in the hell auto manufacturers insist on providing flappy paddles on torque converter driven automatic transmission equipped cars is beyond me. I blame Chrysler, because they started this bullshit with their ‘AutoStick’ on the Intrepid/300M. It’s essentially an automatic transmission that lets the driver request a gear selection. The engine/trans controllers rev-match and select gears and make non-enthusiast drivers feel like Parnelli Jones, but the truth is that it’s a gimmick. PERIOD. OK, so the calibration on the Camaro is well executed and the rev matching was quick and deliberate, but it’s STILL STUPID. The sport mode is calibrated well enough for the car to be driven in Automatic up to 9/10ths without manual shifting, so let’s just save the flappy paddles for DCT equipped cars, mmmkay ?
Toys: 6/10
GM included some neat toys on the programmable dash, but they will be just toys to 98% of Camaro 1LT V6 drivers. Lap Timer ? Seriously ? I get the oil temperature/pressure, coolant temperature, and battery charge… Lap Timer ? Nope.
Audio: 6/10
The MyLink entertainment system is adequate. Of course it’s a rental, so no NAV (they like to charge extra for that), but the interface and menus are logical and only take a few seconds of fiddling to navigate. The sound system is… well… basic. It can get loud but like most OEM radio systems, it lacks crisp high frequency response even though it has tweeters in the mirror flags on the door.
Value: 8/10
No doubt you do get a lot of performance for less than $30K in this 2014 Camaro V6. It is a hoot to drive and will certainly put a smile on many peoples’ faces. The thing is that for all the performance, I couldn’t get over the nits I had with the car. We’ll see if my impression changes tomorrow, but I’m not holding my breath.
TOTAL: 65/100 (and that’s probably a gift)
Nerd-Vol
> doodon2whls
08/13/2013 at 00:46 |
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I had one as a rental and LOVED IT!
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doodon2whls
> Nerd-Vol
08/13/2013 at 00:56 |
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It's entertaining, but I have too many nits with the Camaro. STILL, 65/100 for a rental car ain't half bad... ;-)
JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
> doodon2whls
08/13/2013 at 01:11 |
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I like the front of the new Camaro... it is a huge improvement. However, the back looks to NASCAR-ish to me... the old square ones were much better.
Alex Murel
> doodon2whls
08/13/2013 at 01:12 |
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Holy shit, you're so right about the "sport shift" features on these auto cars. When you tell it to shift it's a request not a demand. My Buick (yeah, I know, insert old person joke here) has one and one time I tried to shift and a little screen popped up saying "Shift Denied". I still resent that. My car, my shifts, I don't care how bad they are.
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doodon2whls
> Alex Murel
08/13/2013 at 01:15 |
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Sweet ! That makes three of us.. You, me, and my wife. She despises 'auto-stick' equipped cars. She's a babe that can row her own (had a great teacher), so she is qualified to pass judgement.
PlayerWAN
> Nerd-Vol
08/13/2013 at 01:18 |
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Because racecar.
The fastest car is always a rental.
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Alex Murel
> doodon2whls
08/13/2013 at 01:21 |
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Honestly, I havent met a person whos used one and liked it. Also, I made you a present.
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doodon2whls
> Alex Murel
08/13/2013 at 01:38 |
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Awesome. I wish I could grab a full res version for the headline pic.
StoneCold
> doodon2whls
08/13/2013 at 02:16 |
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Click on the picture
Dann
> doodon2whls
08/13/2013 at 03:48 |
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I didn't realise the boot (trunk?) was so... cosy? Given the proportions of the rear end, I thought they'd be more liberal with the luggage space.
Taillights look much better than the earlier models though.
Slave2anMG
> doodon2whls
08/13/2013 at 07:18 |
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I had one, but it was an SS. 400 hp made it better; the rest of the interior I have to concur with you.
Oh, and it was bright orange...and every gap tooth wife beater shirt wearing mullet sporting hayseed driving a primer patched 5.0 Mushbang in the state of Arkansas wanted to race from every traffic light. That was the worst part.
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doodon2whls
> Dann
08/13/2013 at 08:18 |
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It's not as small as it looks in the photo (it's not large either), but you have to fit everything through the small opening as if you were playing 'Operation'.
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Alex Murel
> doodon2whls
08/13/2013 at 09:02 |
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It should be the same size. Just hit view image.
Edit - Nevemind, you got it.
mr. idk
> doodon2whls
08/13/2013 at 12:04 |
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Exterior 6/10? thats where I stopped reading.
dataPOG
> doodon2whls
08/13/2013 at 23:51 |
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Lap timer could be handy on the street, route A is faster than your route B...
innodave
> Alex Murel
08/14/2013 at 03:07 |
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All this hate for the auto-stick is misplaced. Obviously poorly executed auto-sticks are dumb but how is this relevant now? The shifts on a torque converter automatic and on a DCT are both controlled by a computer. Not sure if you know this but VW doesn't have a mechanical linkage from the steering wheel to the gearbox. Try to downshift one too many times in a DCT and let me know what happens. Pretty sure it's going to give you a "shift denied" rather than a connecting rod through the oil pan. This is all about computer calibration and has nothing to do with the mechanics of the transmission. All the torque converter does is transfer power from the engine to the drivetrain, just like the dual clutches in a DCT. The solenoids and clutches engaging the gears are what do the actual shifting. Go look up any review of a vehicle with the new 8-speed ZF slushbox. Nothing but high praise.
That said, every vehicle I own is a manual and I intend to keep it that way as long as possible.
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innodave
> doodon2whls
08/14/2013 at 03:10 |
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"The sport mode is calibrated well enough for the car to be driven in Automatic up to 9/10ths without manual shifting" - 6/10
What the fuck? How is this bad? You're just whining because it has two paddles behind the steering wheel? Those go in the "toys" category anyway, not the "gearbox" category. The gearbox, as you state, seems to be just fine.
Mark Jacob
> doodon2whls
08/14/2013 at 08:52 |
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That trunk opening is hilarious.
Saracen
> doodon2whls
08/26/2013 at 19:40 |
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Porsche pre-dates Auto-stick with their Tiptronic transmission in 964 Porsches.
Oh, and how the hell did they find that pathetic trunk opening acceptable?