Ok, let’s cut straight to the chase. The new style Camaro is a handsome car for most people. There is a sense of presence, of muscular power, when looking at it. The interior is also, at first glance, very stylish, with its wrap around dash and starship like instruments. A bit of a retro touch to the face of the dials also adds to the car’s overall style presentation.
The 314 hp V-6 engine certainly adds to the idea of masculinity. This car, then, is not a shy car, especially in some of the colors available, such as “Inferno Orange” or in this case, “Victory Red.”
Sadly, things start to come undone once you step inside. The materials are much better than the previous Chevys that’s for sure. But some of the plastics still feel as if it was formed from recycled Barbie and Ken dolls, especially the faux aluminum pieces. The driving position is adequate but the visibility is rather terrible. Makes you wonder if this is what it was like fighting in full armor back in the middle ages. If there’s a car that needs a blind spot detection system, this would be it. On the other hand, the stereo is alright. The low end was a bit too booming and imprecise, but nothing too terrible. User interface could be improved however, as it was confusing trying to figure out how to access various information functions on the display.
But come on now. It’s supposed to be a muscle car right? It is about straight line performance and power! Unfortunately, the snowballing continues when you start driving. Granted this was the V-6 version, but at 314 hp, I expected quite a little more pick up and go. The pick up and go seemed to have picked up and left. The car felt heavy down low, and sluggish when the speeds get higher (takes a while anyways). Maybe it was the automatic transmission of this particular car, but that shouldn’t be the case in a muscle car. If you’re looking for speed and power, forget the v-6.
I didn’t expect much as far as handling, but even then, it failed. The steering was vague and detached, giving the driver no sense of confidence. The brakes were numb as well. There was a lot of pitch and dive during any sort of transition, whether it be turning or braking. Yet even with such a soft suspension offering no body control, the Camaro somehow manages to amplify any and all road imperfections straight into your spine. This has to be some sort of engineering marvel. It manages to be soft yet punishing at the same time. But both at the wrong times.
The brighter note is that I managed to get around 26mpg. But if you’re looking to save gas, a muscle car pretender is probably not high on your list of choices anyways.
Depressingly, the Camaro fails to live up to its looks. I rather had high hopes for it, as it does look the part. They say that, for cars at least, you can tell if it’ll be good when you look at it (for example, you look at the Chrysler Sebring, or the late Pontiac Aztec, you knew they were rubbish). But in this case, the older adage of “beauty is only skin deep” definitely reigns supreme.
On second thought, it doesn’t even look that great. At least without the SS package, the tires are too fat, the front end looks cheap and the sides are too thick… But I guess you can’t expect too much since it is actually cheap, with a base price of $24k…
2011 Chevy Camaro 1LT
Pros:
- Standout looks
- Cheap price
- 314hp V6
Cons:
- Looks over function
- Detached…everything
- 314hp V6
Score: 10/20
