Instrumented Test
For most of the pony-car breed’s existence, settling for the V-6 version has been just that: settling. The low rumble of the V-8 has long established a clear hierarchy in the red-light jungle. The V-6 is second place, the first loser. It’s the natural order of things and this V-6 is no different. But before you hide your Pony-Car Participant award in the junk drawer, know that conceding two cylinders has never felt better than in the new Chevrolet Camaro.
Unlike the six-cylinder Camaros of the recent past, driving the 2016 version triggered zero memories of the Hertz counter at LAX. It may look like it should still have barcode stickers on its windows, but this is a changed Camaro. While the design looks the same and the trunk opening is still impossibly tiny, there are no exterior parts shared with last year’s car. Park old next to new and the differences begin to emerge. Most of all, what’s noticeable is that the ’16 is a bit angrier and leaner looking. Inches have been pruned from every dimension. It’s shorter, lower, and narrower.
Design may have punted, but engineering went for the win. Hiding beneath the Camaro’s skin is GM’s rear-drive Alpha platform shared with the Cadillac ATS and CTS. Fractionally smaller than before, our $35,065 Camaro 2LT manual weighed 3467 pounds, making it more than 300 pounds lighter than the last V-6 manual we tested. With less weight to fight against and 12 more horsepower, the updated 3.6-liter V-6—an engine that resides in everything from Colorados to Cadillacs—pulls with V-8 ambition. Acceleration to 60 mph takes 5.4 seconds and the quarter-mile is traversed in 14.1 seconds at 100 mph. Shifts from the six-speed manual are exact and easy. Every opening of the throttle is accompanied by a deep guttural growl out of the dual-mode exhaust, a must-have option at $895.
Listening to the V-6 ape a V-8, you may begin to notice that you can’t see out. Like the last Camaro, the 2016 has about as much glass as does the Unabomber’s supermax cell. GM design seems obsessed with exploring how small it can make windows. We’d love to have a Camaro with great visibility, but that’s not happening unless you opt for the convertible and never put the top up. At least the fenders are visible, which makes placing the front of the car easier.
Still looking inward, we notice the analog tachometer and speedometer flank a digital screen that can be configured to show a number of different displays controlled by buttons on the small-diameter steering wheel. Mounted low in the center console are two large HVAC vents. In an Audi-like bit of UI, turning the vents’ metal bezels adjusts the temperature. A narrow row of HVAC controls and a touch screen sit above the vents. It’s disconcerting that the touch screen is canted slightly downward, presumably to cut glare, but it works quickly and features Apple CarPlay, which allows it to parallel some iPhone capabilities. There are some low-grade plastics on the top of the instrument panel that you’d never find in an Audi, but this is an altogether nicer place to be than the last Camaro. Our biggest gripe about the interior is the inability to see out of it.
The visibility issue certainly will be a deal-breaker for some, but the Camaro’s handling rekindles our pony-car lust. Even on all-season Goodyear Eagle F1 tires (summer rubber isn’t available from the factory), the V-6 Camaro hooks to the road and barely leans. We measured a secure and easily exploited 0.91 g on the skidpad. Mighty last-gen Camaros such as the SS 1LE and the Z/28 had more grip than this, but this V-6 changes direction more quickly than any Camaro we’ve ever driven.
We’re beginning to realize that this new Camaro only looks like a Camaro—hiding behind the façade is something entirely unexpected. It’s a car that feels great with a V-6. It’s a sophisticated, nimble, and refined machine. Credit the Alpha platform for transforming the Camaro. Sure, the 455-hp SS is quicker and sounds even better, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re in awe of this V-6 pony car.
