griffbl
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Long time Mustang Owner, including 2015 Anniversary Mustang GT most recently. Drove a 2017 Camaro RS V6 from Dallas to Houston Sunday. Car was an Enterprise rental. I needed to drop a car in Houston and drive another one back, so a one way rental made sense and Enterprise made it easy.
The Camaro, as of late, has always kind of had a "Transformers" feel and look to me. Very angular, no soft curves or lines anywhere. The other thing I noticed, is that the car FEELS bigger than the Mustang: In its' footprint, and that feeling is exacerbated by the really lousy visibility about which we have heard so much. All true! I own a 1971 Mustang Mach 1 Fastback (aka "Flat-Back") That car is nearly impossible to see to out the rear via the rear view mirror! Well, I am hear to tell you the Camaro is literally that bad. The high belt line does feel as if you are looking out of gun slits of sort. The wide hips on the car make visibility from the side mirrors even feel compromised a bit. That was just my two cents, the car felt BIG.
Build quality, over all, felt on par with the Mustang. The interior had lots of interesting bits. This car was a lower trim level than is my Mustang, so it is a bit of apples to oranges, but I will try to be objective. The much criticized media screen is tilted strangely, top to bottom with an inward taper. It does look odd at that angle. The strangest thing for me is the Tach and Speedo Nacelles...they protrude above the dash line in a poorly integrated manner. The lines don't flow, they simply protrude. I found this to be most odd. I liked the flat bottom steering wheel, but visibility of the gauges was not good in my driving position (I am 5'10").
What I liked: The aforementioned flat bottomed steering wheel was nice. The rear view mirror glass was "edge to edge" like in my Porsche Panamera. Very nice touch vs. the thick plastic border that surrounds the glass in my Mustang. The automatic shifter seemed better positioned in the cabin than on the Mustangs I have examined (my GT is a manual). I also LOVED THE
climate controls being integrated with the vents themselves. I found the trim rings surrounding the vents adjusting temp and airflow to be very trick kit indeed!
A huge plus for me is the SUNROOF! One thing I noticed about it was that it seemed to be ALL behind my head, and I had to look back, or turn my head around, to look out. Again, I am 5’ 10”, so I did not have the seats that far forward. Positioning felt odd as a result. I have always missed this option on a Mustang! I know they add weight, and our cars already have a weight problem.....but it is a great feature IMHO.
The biggest difference I noticed, as to DRIVING, is the difference in steering feel. Now this was not an SS or other GT equivalent in terms of trim, BUT the car simply felt more planted on the road. This was because of the steering feel being a bit heavier. My Mustang GT, on the highway, feels a bit twitchier, as if it needs more corrections. The Camaro less. It stays pointed where you leave it. That was my impression anyway.
Overall, it was a nice experience to drive one. I don't care for the lines so much, and would not buy one as a result. But the car felt GOOD on the road.
One last thing that was impressive, was that I drove 80 for 200 miles and the car returned 31 ish MPG. Now I have not compared that to the discontinued Mustang V6 or the Ecoboost, but I found it quite economical for what it is.
That's about it! Thanks!
Brad
The Camaro, as of late, has always kind of had a "Transformers" feel and look to me. Very angular, no soft curves or lines anywhere. The other thing I noticed, is that the car FEELS bigger than the Mustang: In its' footprint, and that feeling is exacerbated by the really lousy visibility about which we have heard so much. All true! I own a 1971 Mustang Mach 1 Fastback (aka "Flat-Back") That car is nearly impossible to see to out the rear via the rear view mirror! Well, I am hear to tell you the Camaro is literally that bad. The high belt line does feel as if you are looking out of gun slits of sort. The wide hips on the car make visibility from the side mirrors even feel compromised a bit. That was just my two cents, the car felt BIG.
Build quality, over all, felt on par with the Mustang. The interior had lots of interesting bits. This car was a lower trim level than is my Mustang, so it is a bit of apples to oranges, but I will try to be objective. The much criticized media screen is tilted strangely, top to bottom with an inward taper. It does look odd at that angle. The strangest thing for me is the Tach and Speedo Nacelles...they protrude above the dash line in a poorly integrated manner. The lines don't flow, they simply protrude. I found this to be most odd. I liked the flat bottom steering wheel, but visibility of the gauges was not good in my driving position (I am 5'10").
What I liked: The aforementioned flat bottomed steering wheel was nice. The rear view mirror glass was "edge to edge" like in my Porsche Panamera. Very nice touch vs. the thick plastic border that surrounds the glass in my Mustang. The automatic shifter seemed better positioned in the cabin than on the Mustangs I have examined (my GT is a manual). I also LOVED THE
climate controls being integrated with the vents themselves. I found the trim rings surrounding the vents adjusting temp and airflow to be very trick kit indeed!
A huge plus for me is the SUNROOF! One thing I noticed about it was that it seemed to be ALL behind my head, and I had to look back, or turn my head around, to look out. Again, I am 5’ 10”, so I did not have the seats that far forward. Positioning felt odd as a result. I have always missed this option on a Mustang! I know they add weight, and our cars already have a weight problem.....but it is a great feature IMHO.
The biggest difference I noticed, as to DRIVING, is the difference in steering feel. Now this was not an SS or other GT equivalent in terms of trim, BUT the car simply felt more planted on the road. This was because of the steering feel being a bit heavier. My Mustang GT, on the highway, feels a bit twitchier, as if it needs more corrections. The Camaro less. It stays pointed where you leave it. That was my impression anyway.
Overall, it was a nice experience to drive one. I don't care for the lines so much, and would not buy one as a result. But the car felt GOOD on the road.
One last thing that was impressive, was that I drove 80 for 200 miles and the car returned 31 ish MPG. Now I have not compared that to the discontinued Mustang V6 or the Ecoboost, but I found it quite economical for what it is.
That's about it! Thanks!
Brad
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