Rented a Camaro SS for the weekend

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Picked it up at the airport a short while ago; wanted to rent one to "test it" to decide if it is the car for me or not. I have to say that HP is not lacking in the slightest and it makes me glad that I am considering a 3.6L instead of the 6.2L (though it is fun and merging into traffic was a breeze).

I can get in and out of it without issue and there is plenty of leg room. The ride was relatively smooth (at least for a sports car) and the handling/creature comforts were all on par. I was surprised at the amount of trunk space it had and I think there is enough space to hold our luggage for the Route 66 cruise (should the Camaro be the choice of wheels).

Too dark to see the engine and the overall interior design, I will have to look in the morning. One thing I did not care for was the LED door "stripes" because they are pretty distracting at night (need to see if they can be turned off), but the coolest thing was the HUD and the numerous gauges (just about a thing of the past with most cars).

So far, I am very impressed with it as a primary choice--just need to drive a V6 model for comparison.

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Camaro has the same 6 as the impala right? If so the 6 is no slouch..but personally..if you are going for a Camaro, my atitude would be getting the 8. The 6 in the impala was very fast..but quiet.

Enjoy the weekend with it! Expensive rental id bet.
 
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Only reason to own a Camaro or Mustang is for the V8 engine,that's what makes them awesome cars. If you get the V6 you'll always regret it. Do they still have an oil temp gauge?
 
Originally Posted By: Rolla07
Camaro has the same 6 as the impala right? If so the 6 is no slouch..but personally..if you are going for a Camaro, my atitude would be getting the 8. The 6 in the impala was very fast..but quiet.

Enjoy the weekend with it! Expensive rental id bet.

Just in the short time that I have driven it, the 8 seems to be quite thirsty. I have had more than my fair share of high performance cars in my time and I am after reliability and MPG at this point in my life and the 6 speed manual should provide enough spirit. The 325 HP of the V6 will give me the best of both worlds. The rental was not bad (you just have to find coupons), it was less than $180 and worth it before diving into a 20K investment.
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Only reason to own a Camaro or Mustang is for the V8 engine,that's what makes them awesome cars. If you get the V6 you'll always regret it. Do they still have an oil temp gauge?

Yes; it had oil and trans temp gauges as well as water temp, oil pressure, and volts. I do not think I will miss passing up more than a few gas stations. The 8 is fun, but is really too much for what I am after.
 
Be sure to air up the tires before you enjoy it. I often find that most rentals have very under inflated tires, which will prevent you from properly evaluating the ride and handling qualities.
 
I have a 2014 Impala with a 3.6/6-speed A/T as a rental right now. I'll probably have it into late next week.

This engine makes the Impala a rocket. Holy moley, GM's 3.6 DOHC is no slouch.
 
I sat in a new Camaro at a car show. The visibility on the current generation is horrendous. It's not a car I'd wanna use to go sight seeing with.
 
I looked at the Camaros a few years ago. Found the opening in the trunk too limiting for my use. While the trunk space itself was OK, you couldn't get anything much larger than a shoe box into it. Ruined a great car for us since I wanted the option of travel for two.
 
I rent the Camaro's with some regularity. The V6 really does have plenty of power. However, the V6 is nowhere near as much a pleasure to drive as the V8. Yes, it's mostly the characteristics of the V8 that make the car fun. But, also the suspension, interior and tires/brakes are better on the SS.

My impression of the V6 is this. Initially, I disliked the V6 immensely, but grew to like it over a few days. It's a capable, good riding, good MPG car. It goes fast, when it downshifts 3 gears and revs up. Which is to say, after 3 seconds of waiting. Annoying, but not the end of the world. The sounds it makes are less than pleasing to me.

My impression of the SS V8 is this. As soon as I got it on the highway, I instantly loved it. It's responsive, taught enough, has instant torque and simply feels to me like this statement: "this is how a car should be" capable, responsive and fun.
 
FWIW I have the V-6 Challenger and I don't regret getting the six at all. The reason I bought it was I liked the styling of the car, and it had a nicer ride, rode quieter than my previous car. It has plenty of power for merging, etc. I'm a GM guy, but the Camaro has less visibility than the Challenger and no headroom. Legroom was good, though.
 
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We rented one the first time that we were in the US.

Loved it...and the fact that Aussies designed it and took it to the US was a winner.

We had the V6 (they only had a green SS, so no point upgrading)

We were touring, and saw all that we were likely to see without restriction...the two of us took a shoebox, and it fit in the trunk, while also being the largest single piece of baggage that we could get on an airplane without paying excess baggage due to dimension..it was big, and it held shoes....AND it fit in the trunk, but needed the other pieces to be at least a little flexible.

We didn't get one last time, as we had the minions with us, and they deserved to be able to look out a portal, which I doubt the Camaro would have provided....If I'd provided more loombands, then I could well have got a Camaro again.
 
Originally Posted By: 2010_FX4
Originally Posted By: Rolla07
Camaro has the same 6 as the impala right? If so the 6 is no slouch..but personally..if you are going for a Camaro, my atitude would be getting the 8. The 6 in the impala was very fast..but quiet.

Enjoy the weekend with it! Expensive rental id bet.

Just in the short time that I have driven it, the 8 seems to be quite thirsty. I have had more than my fair share of high performance cars in my time and I am after reliability and MPG at this point in my life and the 6 speed manual should provide enough spirit. The 325 HP of the V6 will give me the best of both worlds. The rental was not bad (you just have to find coupons), it was less than $180 and worth it before diving into a 20K investment.


Who buys muscle cars/sports cars for the good mileage? Must be a lot of dissatisfied people out there then lol.
 
I know you didn't ask but here's another vote for the V8. While the V6s of today are much better than a decade ago, I can't help but think "girl's car" when I see a V6 version of a muscle car.

Either way, enjoy the car!
 
I vote for the V6 w/ manual tranny.

I like the Mustang better than the Camaro or Challenger for personal reasons.

OT: Which V6 is best....Mustang, GM or Chryco Pentastar?

I rented a Chrysler minivan with the Pentastar and got 25 mpg driving it from Florida to NY loaded with family and gear. I thought it to be an excellent engine.

I've heard some negatives on the GM regarding fuel dilution and possibly timing chain issues but I'm not positive about this.

The Ford V6 I know little about.
 
Originally Posted By: 3800Series
Who buys muscle cars/sports cars for the good mileage? Must be a lot of dissatisfied people out there then lol.

My '96 LT4 Corvette did manage 32.2 MPG from Houston to Nashville. I was driving it though and not romping on it. Part of what steers me away from the V8 is the cost. I am looking to spend about 20K, not 30K+.
 
Originally Posted By: 3800Series
Originally Posted By: 2010_FX4
Originally Posted By: Rolla07
Camaro has the same 6 as the impala right? If so the 6 is no slouch..but personally..if you are going for a Camaro, my atitude would be getting the 8. The 6 in the impala was very fast..but quiet.

Enjoy the weekend with it! Expensive rental id bet.

Just in the short time that I have driven it, the 8 seems to be quite thirsty. I have had more than my fair share of high performance cars in my time and I am after reliability and MPG at this point in my life and the 6 speed manual should provide enough spirit. The 325 HP of the V6 will give me the best of both worlds. The rental was not bad (you just have to find coupons), it was less than $180 and worth it before diving into a 20K investment.


Who buys muscle cars/sports cars for the good mileage? Must be a lot of dissatisfied people out there then lol.


My wife's friend consistently tops 25MPG in her 2001 Z28 SS. Gotta love double-overdrive.
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If you are after decent mpg..I think you will be happy with the 6. I had an impala rental with the 6..as redhat said..it moves. I remember catching up to a guy in a mercedes c class after leaving a rest stop and i caught up to him uber fast..and he was flooring it outta there!! Gosh i miss that car..bluetooth connectivity to link music on cell to car stereo...im stuck on japanese cars but i really enjoyed the impala. I averaged about 27mpg with it (granted mainly hwy mtl to virginia beach) but i drove it hard..lots of hard accel..honestly..its close to being as good as my 07 corolla on gas..which goes to show you how far we have come.
 
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