2010 Chevrolet Camaro RS
by Jim Prueter

All-new Camaro: A few flaws but mostly applause

For the first time in eight years, there’s a Camaro in Chevrolet showrooms. The third and last of the Detroit “pony cars” finally went on sale last month. Loyal fans have waited patiently since the concept car was first seen at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show.

In terms of styling, Camaro takes its cues from and pays homage to the 1969 Camaro, and all agree that lead designer Sang Yup Lee scored a winner. Lee nailed the styling, if you like a menacing, almost angry, look. Camaro is less retro in appearance than competitors Mustang and the Chrysler-built Dodge Challenger. Its muscular looks turned heads quicker than a tennis match.

The Camaro comes in two versions, the V-6 tested here and the V-8, either with a six-speed manual or automatic transmission. The least expensive Camaro is the LS with a base price of $22,245. Most buyers will want to kick in a few extra dollars and upgrade to the 1LT which adds alloy wheels, a power driver’s seat and fog lights. There’s also an RS appearance package that adds different wheels and HID headlamps.

For now, the rear-drive Camaro is only offered in a coupe with a convertible coming later. Chevy also axed a Z28 performance model, at least for now.

Our V-6 equipped Camaro with 304 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque lacked nothing but the deep rumble of V-8 power. For that, you’ll need to move up to the SS models powered by a 6.2-liter 426-horsepower Corvette engine. We thought the 3.6-liter V-6, the same that powers the Cadillac CTS, was more than enough engine and will satisfy most drivers. The Mustang’s V-6 is just 210 horsepower, Dodge Challenger’s 250. We did think the V-6 was unusually noisy and on the buzzy side under full acceleration. Chevy says the V-6 will go from zero to 60 in 6.1 seconds. That bests Mustang’s 6.9 seconds and Challenger’s 7.8 seconds.

While I have zero complaints relative to the exterior styling, the same can’t be said about the cabin. There are panels of honest-to-goodness cheap-looking plastic on the front doors, with a strip of aqua-blue ambient lighting that reaches across the dash adding to the cheesy look. A four-gauge cluster is mounted at the base of the center stack that’s both retro and functional.

Camaro’s weakest point is the hard plastic dash, with both the quality of material and fit and finish quality leaving much room for improvement. There was too much cheap looking plastic trim around the shifter, radio and climate controls.

Front seat space was ample and comfortable. Rear seat room, as expected in this class vehicle, is scarce. And, with no tip or slide mechanism for the front bucket seat, it’s nearly impossible to get in and out easily.

On the road our Camaro delivered in spades with negligible body roll, dips or bounce. The independent rear suspension, while firm, didn’t result in an uncomfortable ride for occupants. Steering felt a bit light for our liking; brakes were impressively solid. Rear visibility is poor due mainly to the width of the C-pillars and small mirror.

Standard safety gear includes dual-stage frontal airbags and thorax side-impact airbags, electronic stability control with traction control and four-wheel antilock disc brakes. Camaro earned the highest possible five-star rating in government side-impact crash tests. It has not been crash tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety as of this writing.

Overall, we think Camaro more than exceeded its top three objectives: to design it with drop dead gorgeous styling, to deliver exceptional performance and to keep it affordable.

Chevrolet says it has 14,000 initial orders but it remains to be seen how much staying power it will have in this economy. But for the first time since November 1993, Camaro beat the Ford Mustang in monthly sales and its rumored that some went for over sticker price.

We’re schedule to receive and test a Camaro SS with its powerful 6.2-liter, 426 horsepower Corvette engine and will have a separate review of that vehicle.

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