RE: UK-Spec Chevy Camaro Pricing Announced

[anonymous-user]

High V8 fuel consumption is a complete myth unless you drive like a gimp! Don't buy a V6 in UK unless you enjoy heavy depreciation.

• Camaro - fastest, clunky styling.
• Challenger - stylish, less harsh ride.
• Mustang - competent all-rounder, a bit ordinary.

These cars can make sense in uk if you're looking for something a bit different from the norm. Otherwise the default Germans have got things stitched up tight, unlike USA where they are massively more expensive in comparison.

[mackie1]

Yes and no. People on here claim to get 30mpg average from LS1 and LS2 equipped cars and that's BS. On a long motorway run it's possible, my Monaro would do 28mpg on a 270 mile M1 jaunt but the average over the time I had it (4 years and 24000 miles) I got about 16mpg. If you don't do many miles or you do most of your driving on motorways or you glue an egg to the accelerator it won't be too expensive.

[Tom74]

On the fuel consumption side, I get 22mpg from my Z06 and it never sees a motorway, fairly confident that would rise with longer runs at constant speeds.

The monaro I had did 15 mpg, on a daily commute of 6 miles in total, if that's all you're averaging then you have a heavy right foot!

[mackie1]

A lot of my driving was fairly short trips in town.

[tucks]

WorAl said:

Seriously, will all you people who read these articles then spout stuff like this, without first thinking about what you are saying, stop doing this??

It spoils almost every new car thread.

"£35k??? why not just buy a USED car for less?"
.

id agree with you IF the car wasnt basically the same as a vxr8. its not just:-
"ohh, buy this old one thats not remotly the same for less"

its a:-
"oh, buy this 12month old one that is the same car with 4doors and better brakes for 15k less"

my opionon is the UK hasnt really found a big enough market for sudo-muscle cars. the Vaux dealer back up with its Holden cross over v8 range is rubbish, as im sure this cars will be. its banking on its iconic looks and film-tie value to lock in sales.

if my opinion that releasing a car that already has direct competition and is avalible to anyone who wants a v8 muscle car that has pretty much bombed(just looking at how much the monaros/VXR8's have dropped in value) is enough to ruin a whole thread for you then im sorry. however, my view is that this car offers nothing, bar its looks, that you cant already buy here-boarderline brand new for much less money.

i take it i am allowed that view? i will double check with you in future as the thought of ruining a whole thread for you makes me cry on the inside.

Edited by tucks on Sunday 3rd July 12:24

[jezzaaa]

5 USA said:

High V8 fuel consumption is a complete myth unless you drive like a gimp!

I've gotta say, it's not my experience. Admittedly if it's a 'clever' V8 like BMWs and Mercs, then they can be more reasonable...if 25mpg average is what you call reasonable. My Camaro never does anymore than 23-25 and that's on a decent run (Abu Dhabi to Dubai) on cruise. As soon as you're in traffic etc it gets massively worse. My Range Rover was the same, as was my Mustang. And before you say 'It depends how you drive it' yes of course it does, but it's all relative...even when driven gently it's rubbish...just less rubbish than when you drive it hard! And I ask you, what's the point of buying a car like that if you're going to drive Miss Daisy?? Fuel costs over here (about 18p a litre at the moment) makes this of no consequence, except for constantly being in pertol stations. At a quid forty a litre...scary!

Not sure how gimp's drive...have to ask Zed

With due regard to Tom74's post...I can't get anywhere near that figure on average. Must have too heavy a right foot!!

Edited by jezzaaa on Sunday 3rd July 12:42

[nickythesaint]

Doesn't it handle like a shed on wheels?

[mackie1]

Same underpinings as the VXR8, so no. It is quite a heavy brute though, but then an M3 is 1700kg these days

[jezzaaa]

nickythesaint said:

Doesn't it handle like a shed on wheels?

No the handling and grip is very good, although it is a bit numb on the steering.

[LukeBird]

Nice work GM!

[anonymous-user]

jezzaaa said:

...if 25mpg average is what you call reasonable.

Well, with a 6 litre engine and 400 bhp I'd say the answer to that is "YES!!".

If you want a Nissan Micra then it might be better to shop elsewhere....

[superman84]

Seems a pretty good price until you read that the steering wheel I'd on the wrong side despite being being 'uk spec'

[willisit]

bobberz said:

Thanks, guess I've gotten a bit behind the times. The SEMA car was a one-off, though. IIRC, it had the full-fat LS9 out of the 'Vette ZR1, complete with 638bhp and that stupid plexiglass window revealing... another piece of plastic covering the engine.

I may be wrong, but the 'Maro will have the 550bhp LSA that's in the CTS-V.

Glad they're calling it ZL-1. For a while people were speculating the "super Camaro" would be called Z-28, which was stupid because Z28 was the trim level below SS in the 4th gen.

All (Camaro) SEMA cars are tuner cars, invited by GM, to attend. The LS9 car is well known, and also more expensive than a ZR-1 Corvette - but available if you have the money,

The ZL-1 is, what you see (the red car) - and has never had the LS9, nor the window in the bonnet.

However, to know this you'd need to be pretty nerdy - like me. :P

[willisit]

superman84 said:

Seems a pretty good price until you read that the steering wheel I'd on the wrong side despite being being 'uk spec'

Same arguement has been said, covered, and thrown out. Read the rest of the thread

[anonymous-user]

swerni said:

You won't 25mph average out of one of these, it will be closer to 20mpg.
On a long run with a light foot, high 20's very doable.

......except LS owners KNOW their cars average around 25 mpg with an auto box and a bit better than that with a manual.

[007 VXR]

5 USA said:

......except LS owners KNOW their cars average around 25 mpg with an auto box and a bit better than that with a manual.

My S/C LS2 Monaro avg 22/23mpg , with not much town driving
28mpg on long runs
since new 20k miles about 21 avg MPG

[AdeTuono]

5 USA said:

......except LS owners KNOW their cars average around 25 mpg with an auto box and a bit better than that with a manual.

My Z06 did (LS6), my Camaro doesn't (L99).

[AdeTuono]

swerni said:

AdeTuono said:

5 USA said:

......except LS owners KNOW their cars average around 25 mpg with an auto box and a bit better than that with a manual.

My Z06 did (LS6), my Camaro doesn't (L99).

could shape and weight be a factor

Did the tune help the economy on the L99?
Have you fitted a skip shift eliminator to yours yet?

The tuner's still sitting on my desk waiting for me to plug it in; totally forgot about it, TBH.

No skip-shift on the auto, though it has got that AFM, which I'm not keen on. Still, if we were worried about mpg.....

[will261058]

Its a bit of a looker alright!

[Reardy Mister]

Here's the one I hired on holiday (did the hired Hog get in that pic too? How silly of me....).







AND it looks good with the roof up.

Button shift gearbox on the wheel - lovely to use and fairly seamless but the ratios didnt seem to match the engines torque band very well for a "sports" feeling. Is it a manual or a switchable auto? It blips on the down-shifts and either way, it shifted well if only going 1 gear away. But hunted in auto mode and was sluggish to accelerate unless you went down 2 gears as the engine needs revs before it comes alive. In which case you get that age-old symptom of it gathering a bag of revs as it files through two gears and then trying to rip your face off when it finally takes off. For overtaking I used manual mode, selected what I wanted and avoided the drama. Needs a shift kit or something.

Engine - lovely but feels suffocated and only impressive when screaming.

It rides really well actually (despite Iowa Highway surfaces) and the interior is, as yanks go, actually quite good.

Head up display is awesome. Easy to use, customisable view, can be positioned to make it readable, loved it.

Roof takes FOREVER to open and close and having it open leaves the boot really, really small. Big enough for my hand luggage, my carry-all shoe-horned in thats IT.

Steering is nicely weighted, maybe on the light side but to be expected in that car in that market.

Handling is capable but it feels big changing direction. In fact it feels big in every sense and thats because it is. Its dimensions are enormous for a modern 2-door coupe. Back seats are good for kiddy-seats only. Which makes you wonder where all the space went really.

Will take a USB from your iphone stright in to the centre console and you operate the ipod function via the car's head unit. Good sound system, certainly handled my AC/DC Live and Metallica playlist with relative fidelity, though I did need a few extra notches of volume at times.

Seats are very supportive and comfy and not too soft, like some American cars.

Does it turn heads? Yes, even in the US and you will get thumbs up from other muscle car guys. Getting a thumbs up from a good ol' boy in a convertible boat tail 'vette made my day.

I loved it but I love the look, the platform, the (tenuous) heritage, the badge etc. I completely buy into it. For a sports car purist - non. But if youre favourite car is an Exige, why are you hiring or buying a Camaro? For the V8/Chev/US Muscle car fan - oui sil vous plait.

And if youre worried about price and availability of renting one:

I booked ahead a Ford Focus or similar from Budget for 5 days for £147.00 On arrival at O'Hare Airport, they had loads of Camaros. Enchanted, I enquire about the cost of upgrading.
"Sure, hard top or convertible sir?"
"Quote me for both please"
"Ok sir, the hard top is $18.50 extra and the convertible is $24.50 extra."
"Per day?"
"Yessir."
"You better get me a convertible then."
"Certainly sir. And what colour would you like?"
"Red please. Umm....are they the 6 cylinder ones?"
"Sorry sir, nearly all our Camaros are the SS V8. Would you like me to see if I can get a V6 for you?"
"No! No thanks, just enquiring...."
"Sir your car is awaiting you in bay 63, enjoy your rental."

And I walk out trying to hide my obvious erection excitement.

I loved it and would definitely spend the money to rent another one. I drove an LHD F150 Lightning here in England for 3 years and even in light of that experience, Im afraid I would still throw my money down on a second hand VXR8. Mainly because I think the UK doesnt "get" big brash yank cars and the occasional hostility is a PITA. And also because I need 4 doors.

But the Camaro didnt feel like a thrown together utility with a big engine dumped in it and flogged as a performance car (like the Lightning does). It felt like a deliberate and quality vehicle. You could buy one with some confidence I think. I might struggle with spending 34k on a car though that wears 21"(?) Pirelli P Zeros all round. As a proportion of the purchase price, that (probably regular) running cost will be crippling.

Edited by Reardy Mister on Sunday 3rd July 23:25