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| The new Camaro has a commanding road presence and styling cues that hark back to the original. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press) |
You may recognize Chevrolet's Camaro from, say, the late '60s, or one of many auto shows it has graced, or from that little film called “Transformers.” No matter how you identify with the Camaro, it is back from its hiatus and looks and drives better than ever before.
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| The interior is simple and to-the-point, with all controls tightly grouped. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press) |
Even from the driver's seat, it's clear that the new Camaro takes its styling cues from the original model: the instrument cluster looks retro chic but with a modern flare. The rest of the cabin has a very simple and to-the-point feel. I am not a fan of tons of buttons so this is deemed favourable in my eyes. The controls are all condensed into one small area and there is no guesswork as to what button does what. In addition, the particular Camaro I drove had four multi-function auxiliary gauges next to the gearshift giving it that muscle car ambiance. But what I think was lacking was something to alleviate the expansive mass of black plastic dash in front of the passenger. I wish there was a Camaro badge or something to fill the void and spice things up. Also, the interior trim was almost flush with the plastic, making it blend in and not stand out. Now, if it were chromed out or even a faux carbon fibre, that would have kicked things up a notch. Still, overall the interior is pretty good.
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| The Camaro LT comes standard with a 3.6L V6 that produces 304hp and 273 lb-ft of torque and hustles the car to 100 km/h in just over six seconds. (Photo: Canadian Auto Press) |
Moving from the inside to under the hood, let's talk about horsepower. The 3.6L V6 engine delivers 304 horsepower at 6,400 rpm and 273 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 rpm. That's more than enough ponies to get you to the grocery store and back, and if you need to get there fast the V6 Camaro will blast from 0-100 km/h in 6.3 seconds. The optional 6-speed automatic ($1,435) that was mated to this engine has quick responses, creating a powertrain that was ready and willing to haul butt at the drop of the throttle. If the V6 isn't powerful enough for you, the Camaro also comes with an optional 6.2L V8 that produces 426 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque and has a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 4.9 seconds. To slow you down in a hurry, the V6 LT has four-channel, four-wheel ABS brakes.
