From rental lot special to a bonified enthusiast option

"Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair)" (vicarious-chair) 03/11/2016 at 16:12 • Filed to: Camaro, 2016, Chevy, Chicago, v6

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Driving the 16 camaro has reoriented my feelings towards it and (maybe) the company. I knew I’d be in for a treat, but I was still pleasantly surprised after just a few hours behind the wheel. Mine seemed to be the base model, V6 automatic (nothing I can do there, it being a rental lot in Chicago).

In an effort to condense my feelings: its a bit prettier, feels a whole lot more solid, is much nicer to be in, a lot nicer to the touch, better to listen to and requires little effort to make you smile.

I was delighted to see a screaming 7k redline that gets there awfully fast when flipping through the gears on open road. I did not really love the paddles with a full two inches of throw, but the trans works very well. It has plenty of passing power, and plenty of power off the line for me to do silly stupid fun stuff with.

I really enjoy the new look of the car. I like the added body lines. I don’t know if I’d say the car is beautiful. But it looks more appropriate to this future-muscle look Chevy has been moving towards. It does look more exotic, in a more loose definition of the word. More design for your buck is a nice thing.

The interior is where things get tricky. Comfortable seats? Check. More head room and visibility than before? Sort of a Check. Better ergonomics and layout? Definitely. Designed like a modern sports car and not like a rental car from an island where fun things are bad? Check! The interior designers got creative in there, and it looks very interesting and pretty. But, seriously, everyone needs to drop the unpainted fisher price material for use in the interior. I’m 99% sure that if marginally nicer materials were used and it increased the sticker price, everyone would still buy them and would be happier. Or maybe the audience who pays for these new doesn’t care what’s building the inside of their car.

Anyway, on a different note, I think the backseats got smaller. I didn’t put anyone back there, besides my 50lb dog, but just from looking, it seems like there’s no one who would be able to ride in back with me at the wheel. Its turned into a parcel sill with seat belts. Seems like interior space improved for the front two seats, and shrunk out back. This is something I’m fine with, since, if this were mine, people wouldnt be in back anyway. But I thought it’d be worth noting here.

Other than those quips, I think this new model is a leap in the right direction. I could see myself owning it down the road. I haven’t been so satisfied behind the wheel like this in some time, and that is what enthusiast options are all about.

BeaterGT > Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) 03/11/2016 at 16:15

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Are you telling me a car isn’t as bad as the internet makes it out to be? Gadzooks!

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) 03/11/2016 at 16:18

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I think the best way to describe the looks of this generation is to compare it to Toyota (bear with me). Not the most recent ones, I’m talking 3-4 years ago. They looked like someone had hooked up the last generation version to an air pump and forgotton to turn it off. All the best details were eliminated by the swollen bodywork, and even the headlights/taillights seemed to be bulging out of their sockets like big wads of Play-do.

This Camaro is exactly the opposite of that. Somebody’s gone over it with a heat gun and it’s shrunk down and tightend up, revealing even more crisp details.

PorkchoPlissken > Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) 03/11/2016 at 16:18

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I’ve only heard good things about the base model. I do still love the old Camaro logo on the quarter panel, though it might have come back a while ago. I need to test drive one of these, I love base models that are more than sufficient. And posing with rentals should be a new oppo requirement. Especially if you get the Yaris of shame.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > PorkchoPlissken 03/11/2016 at 16:19

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Base has the 2.0T, not the V6. This one is mid range.

I think.

yitznewton > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 03/11/2016 at 16:21

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I think so too

PorkchoPlissken > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 03/11/2016 at 16:22

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Shows how much I know. I just can’t keep up.

Opposite Locksmith > Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) 03/11/2016 at 16:30

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Haha 7k is screaming nowadays

Dean Beyer > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 03/11/2016 at 16:43

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V6 is an option in the 1LT (base) trim level.

citizennick > Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) 03/11/2016 at 16:49

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Which materials in the interior are you not a fan of? The only thing I’ve found weird is the hard plastic around the shifter in the console. But my hand never goes there anyways. Step up to a 2LT or a 2SS and it feels much better. I changed my order from a 1SS to a 2SS based solely on the interior after checking both out during a Find New Roads event last fall.

The illuminated door sill and “disco lighting” is a nice touch. Being that my interior is red I can’t get very creative with the colors ):

mazda616 > Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) 03/11/2016 at 16:50

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My boss had a white one as a rental a few weeks ago and it was a nice looking car even in uber-base rental spec.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Dean Beyer 03/11/2016 at 17:43

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Which means the V6 is not base equipment.

TahoeSTi > Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) 03/11/2016 at 18:55

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I drove a rental camaro v6 a 2 months ago, The think it feels bloated, poorly made, and Slow. the driver controls are horrible, in the corners the thing was just down right bad. They are rental cars at best.

Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) > TahoeSTi 03/11/2016 at 19:09

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Was it the 15 or 16 model?

a.

or

b.

TahoeSTi > Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) 03/11/2016 at 19:11

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It was a 15, but 200lbs and few more HP wasn’t going to make it a good car. A manual transmission might have helped.

The steering felt dead, and visibility out of the car was compete crap. I’m 6'2" and everything in the car felt awkward for me....don’t get me wrong the cabin on the new mustang isn’t much better but at least the steering and brake feel in the mustang are more like a sports car.

I like a car that feels huckable, and under control at the limit. The Camaro felt out of place on on ramps.

Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) > TahoeSTi 03/11/2016 at 19:20

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I honestly think they’ve matched what is good about this new Mustang (in T-I4 and V6 flavors) in this new Camaro. I’m no fan of the 14 or 15 Camaro, but this one tickled me in a good way. It drives like a wider, gruntier ATS, as far as my butt could tell. Visibility out of the cabin still sucks, but I can check over the right of my shoulder for oncoming cars better than I could in the Challengers I’ve tried. The previous Camaro felt sloppy through turns, this one does not. It also rotates very predictably/well when asked, much like the ATS does.

TahoeSTi > Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) 03/11/2016 at 19:22

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I’ll have to try a 2016 next time a rent a car....did they fix the automatic yet or is it still lethargic?

Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) > TahoeSTi 03/11/2016 at 19:40

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A bit of delay still. It reacts to your inputs more intuitively. It feels like it wants to be manually shifted. Rev matched downshifts feel nice. Makes you want to engine brake down to all the lights. Upshifts at WOT or during spirited moments of driving happen fast and like how you’d want them, too.

TahoeSTi > Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) 03/11/2016 at 19:43

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Still sounds crippling, if only I could rent one with a 3rd pedal.....I prefer to rev match my downshift myself.

Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) > TahoeSTi 03/11/2016 at 19:46

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That’d be ideal. The autos on the latest ponies have been fun, but it always leaves me wondering how much better of a time I’d be having rowing my own gears.

TahoeSTi > Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) 03/11/2016 at 19:47

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I couldn’t get the 15 to do a burnout, a hard launch, or a brake stand....where the fun in that :)

Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) > TahoeSTi 03/11/2016 at 19:51

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lol. You can make this one wag its tail, spin tires recklessly, but awkwardly not rev past 4k in neutral while standing still. I was producing smoke with this one with some managers on the lot.
Work is fun sometimes.

But yeah, the previous one was crippled in that department.

Xazzaphonic (previously known as Vicarious-Chair) > citizennick 03/12/2016 at 18:40

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This one looks a lot nicer. Looks like a bigger screen with a different bezel. In this spec, everything around the screen is a plain black plastic. I didn’t like the material covering the gauges. I like the aesthetic of it, but not the finish. On this model, it has two sections of plastic going over and around the gauges, and they don’t meet up properly/have a weird gap. Due to this, it makes a bit of a squeek when I had the windows up and volume off going through some turns or over some bumps. I’d prefer more stuff wrapped in that thin leather they put over the arm rest. Might not be high-quality stuff, but it looks better than the naked plastic.