Picture this: You’re at a red traffic light, patiently waiting for it to change green. You check your rearview mirror, and you see a menacing, scowling face looking right back at you - the face of a modern American muscle car. Naturally, the next thing you observe is the baritone sound of a rev-matched downshift, followed by the echoes of cracks and pops of overrun as they ricochet off the walls of nearby buildings. “Good grief”, you think to yourself. “What a box of tools that driver must be.”

However, I think we all know we quietly wish we were that driver of that loud American V8 car. This weekend, I got to be that driver for a short while.




What is it?


It’s the 2019 Chevrolet Camaro SS, and here in particular, it appears in convertible form. Camaro is essentially synonymous with “pony car” or “American muscle”, or, at least, it’s become as such over time. While the vaunted Ford Mustang and Pontiac GTO are often credited as shaping what we know as high-performance American cars today, the Camaro existed in the same market as those cars, mostly with the purpose of stealing sales away from the Ford competitor. Since then, the Camaro has been a lot of things, including absent from production for the majority of a decade, but it has never been a slouch when compared to other options of similar character, and has been firmly cemented in pop culture by being referenced in songs and movies (notably Transformers). Like it or not, Mustang fans, the Camaro is an icon, too.




So where does all this history leave us today? Ahem. With a face that is most favorably described by the adjectives given earlier, or perhaps, as my friend said this weekend, “[It’s] intimidating to see in the rear view mirror.”

Looks aside, the Camaro has a big V8 we all know and love from the Corvette Stingray, displacing 6.2 liters and producing a healthy 455 horsepower and 455 lb-ft of torque. It has a ten-speed automatic transmission, and it’s lovely - more on that later. It has a flat-bottom steering wheel. It has a loud exhaust. Just by reading these facts, the reader of this write-up already knows the aim of this car.



This particular car was gray, with black interior, with the brightly-finished silver split-five-spoke wheels. As far as a Camaro SS goes, things could get a lot more aggressive - but hey, everyone will hear you coming anyway.

First Impressions and Interior

Not to seem one-note, but my first impression of this car, upon starting the engine, was honestly, “Wait a minute. Is this the stock exhaust?” As it turns out, it is stock. Firing it up, I was met with a raspy burble loud enough to have me slightly embarrassed. As I moved the car from its original resting place to the sunlight for some photos, I began to appreciate the exterior details. That is, lots of angles. This car knows nothing but aggression, and aggression begets angles.

For whatever it’s worth, the styling of this car really doesn’t wow me. It’s totally predictable and unsubtle. However, the rear end of the car, particularly the smoked-grey tail light housings, works well. Of course, this ‘vert looks a lot better with its top down, but thanks to weirdly cold weather, I seldom got to enjoy that feature.




Inside, things are much more positive. Material quality = check. Nothing really felt overtly cost-cut in the interior, as plastics were well-hidden or wrapped in leatherette (or even real leather). I was pleasantly surprised at the interior environs, especially the well-bolstered seats. They weren’t so racy to inhibit ingress or egress, but they also hugged me in the right places. The touchscreen being so low is quite a shame, since I mostly found it easy to work with. I just was afraid to steer my eyes away from the road for long enough to navigate it while driving.



I am a sucker for ambient lighting. I settled on a blue-green two-tone affair after some experimentation - a color combo which does not suit the Camaro SS at all.

On the Road, but this time the Road is good

The Camaro is a car that’s about two things, mainly: driving for fun, and looking and/or sounding like a badass while doing it. I’d have to say I didn’t know that before driving one for myself, and I know that from experience by now.

Some friends and coworkers and I went on a fun day-trip to the Ozarks. Namely, we went to the Lake of the Ozarks area, with large lakes that snake their way through the hills. If the geography sounds like it would lend itself well to driving roads to you, well you’re not the only one. Thanks to this aspect of our trip, I was able to put the Camaro through its paces on some roads with endless switchbacks and lots of fun elevation changes.


Here's the lineup of my friends' cars and my Turo Camaro at the far left, at a lake in the Ozarks.

While the Camaro is a bit intimidating (there’s that word again) to drive at first, due to its horrendously narrow sight lines and long, intrusive hood, it’s also a car that rewards me for learning how to drive it. From the first moment I put the car into D and pressed the gas, I heard - not to mention, felt - the exhaust rumbling as the engine spun itself to life and pushed the car ahead. Instantly, I was ready to drive this thing some more. What’s impressive about this car is that it delivers on the promises made by its loud exhaust.


Promise number 1: It’s fast.

Thank goodness the sound is a preview for some actual thrust. No car with 455 horsepower could be considered slow, but the Camaro is… well, tractable in the way it builds that power. Don’t tell my wife, but I might have done a roll race from 60 to ?? against a tuned, not stock, Kia Stinger GT and been dead-even. … And also a stock Audi RS3. Be responsible, guys, don’t be me. Note, I’ve driven that same Stinger before, and I know it’s no slouch.

On top of the monstrous power is a beautiful 10-speed automatic. I tried to trip this machine up, and I could not. It downshifts very quickly for something with so many cogs, and it is intelligent enough to select the right gear for whatever I’m doing. Not only that, I spent a significant portion of my driving in manual shift mode, since the manual shift response in this car is that good. It felt every bit as good as the last ZF eight-speed I drove (in an XF, incidentally), with quick responses as well as fast shifts. I was genuinely impressed by it.


Promise number 2: It’s fun.

Let’s interpret “fun” to mean, “fun to throw around corners” here, as car enthusiasts are wont to do. The steering on this car is very responsive, no matter which of the drive modes (Tour, Sport, Track, and Snow/Ice) is selected. In fact, I’d say it’s equally responsive to something like the RC F I recently test-drove. Pushing this car through some turns takes a little patience, however, as matting the gas with the steering wheel even slightly turned will lead to oversteer. It’s incredibly easy to illuminate the TC light in the dash. However, when piloting this Camaro SS on some windy Missouri roads, I had the privilege of experiencing its sense of balance. I can’t say I’ve driven any other car to date that felt so willing to change its angle mid-corner, and it felt simply agile in all scenarios.

To add to the “fun” factor, there’s the noise of this car from its quad exhaust pipes. This is by far the loudest car I’ve probably been in, much less driven. It’s comically loud. When at around 4000 RPM or higher, I could command a sequence of pops and bangs by stabbing the throttle and then abruptly releasing it. Cheap thrills, sure, but no less thrilling. I probably sounded like a jerk while doing it, but hey, it’s a rental! Thankfully, the V8 fades into the background at anything under 2000 RPM. Believe it or not, quietly staying under 2000 is doable in normal city driving. Should you? Not if you ask me.

Promise number 3: It’s kind of a mess.

I fully expected the Camaro to be rough around the edges in some places, and lo and behold, it was - but not in the way I expected. After all, materials were more than decent, and the driving experience is nearly unimpeachable. However, the biggest detractors to the fun were two things: the noisy convertible top and the choppy ride quality. The convertible top complaint is probably nothing new for those who have driven “cabriolets”, but to me, it was quite surprising that the top should make all manner of ticks and creaks throughout the drives I took in it. Out on the open road, the memory of these noises fades, but as soon as this Chevy hits pockmarked city streets, it’s Creak City again. Contributing to this was the often-harsh ride quality of this beast. Chevy’s magne-ride system is often praised for its versatility, but to me, this car seemed on the harsh side no matter what. Perhaps the ride issues were magnified by the convertible top announcing said issues to me audibly, but nonetheless, it seemed needlessly firm.



Yeah that's me looking into the window of my own car, which makes no sense, I know.


Conclusion

I’d take a Camaro, messy or not. Chevy put their priorities on making this car all about the drive, and it worked. The pros of this car’s driving experience make me forget the problems it has. If you’re idle enough to be worrying about noise or harshness, you’re on the wrong road for this car. Find one with more bends - and preferably, do it in decent weather so you can experience the sensory input of top-down motoring. You will be childishly giggling at least a few times on that drive.

For whatever it’s worth, I’d love to try a coupe instead of a convertible, just to see what the differences are.

 

I've always wanted a Camaro back to college days but alas it's not in the cards at this point in time. Thanks for sharing your experience with one. I was able to slip into fantasy land for awhile. Sorry to hear about the convertible top I always thought rag tops were the best looking.

 

I really need to test-drive a coupe. I am sure it's more livable day-to-day. For what it's worth, the experience is a lot more refined with the roof down!

 

Great write-up, thanks! And i gather you rented that, right?

fun times!

 

Yes, once again rented through Turo. I probably could have rented it through Budget or something like that, but I wanted to know what I was getting (rather than "Dodge Challenger or similar").

 

This Stinger has a piggy-back tune, stainless steel exhaust, and intakes. It's pushing 18 PSI of boost instead of the stock 14. Also, I said it was "dead-even", it's not like he was walking away.

I don't know if the RS3 was stock or not, but I assumed it was since the owner had just picked it up two weeks prior and hadn't mentioned any mods.

Besides, frankly, you are missing the point. The Camaro SS is a performance deal that can run with more expensive cars easily - that was my point.

 

I hear the coupe is the way to go BUT, visibility to the rear/rear sides is HORRIBLE - I want to rent to find out for myself.

Btw, I think Hertz does specify "EXACT CAR" for its adrenaline collection.


great write-up, thanks!

 

Nice. I might have to look into that next time I fly into Atlanta to visit family!

 

An Audi RS3 is not slower than an SS. S3 yes, RS3 No

 

Drivers race if the RS3 is stock. Good luck finding a stock one to race

 

Still not a driver's race unless the driver has no legs. AWD, light and seriously underrated. My friend has one and we Dragy'd it and it was constantly hitting 3.7-3.8 0-60 stock.

 

Best one liner I've read on here in a very long time.

 

Haha good point. I don't know if it's stock, since, on startup, it had a distinctive pop every time. ON STARTUP. Really unusual for me.

I mean, I felt launch control in the RS3, and it's brutal. It's not a slow car by any means. I think above 100 MPH the Camaro might start walking away, but that's not something I'd like to try outside a drag strip.

edit: I asked the owner, and it was stock.