For various reasons, we had to wait nearly two years for the most expressive interpretation of the Camaro yet – but it’s finally here, the Camaro Convertible.
A week of warm sunshine awaited us when we took delivery of our tester, an Inferno Orange Camaro SS with all the right options – including that power-retractable soft top.
What is it?
After Chevrolet dropped the Camaro nameplate in 2002, crosstown rival Ford Mustang dominated the droptop rear-wheel-drive realm in Detroit for nearly a decade while GM sat back and cranked out Cavaliers for sun worshippers. Although, to be fair, the V8-powered Mustang GT peaked at a modest 260 horsepower back then – less than a V6 today. No wonder the segment was fading.
But the fifth-generation Camaro stormed back for 2010, taking with it the sales title among ponycars. For 2012, Chevrolet finally peeled back the top to create the Camaro Convertible, tested here in range-topping SS trim.
That means it packs the General’s 6.2-liter 426-horsepower LS3 V8 mated to a six-speed manual transmission. Unlike Camaros of yore, this one is set up to be more than just a drag strip runner. Brembo brakes come standard, while 20-inch alloy wheels were included as part of a $1,200 RS Package.
What’s it up against?
Really, the Camaro’s only rival is the Ford Mustang GT. Packing a little less power and a comparatively conventional style, the Mustang has become old news in the segment, even though it is just two years into its most recent refresh.
If you’re not totally sold on the ponycar theme, you might want to consider a BMW 335i or an Audi S5, both of which offer more sophistication, but less grunt (with a much higher price tag).
Any breakthroughs?
Aside from some reinforcements necessary for the removal of the Camaro’s roof, there really isn’t much here that we didn’t see back in 2009 when the 2010 Camaro first launched. Next year’s models get a new steering wheel and a few other tweaks, but the 2011 mostly mirrors its immediate predecessor.
The Camaro’s power-retractable soft top is a no-hassle affair when it comes time to soak up the rays. Press a button mounted above the windshield and, about 20 seconds later, the top is stowed away. Although we think the dropped top looks fine without it, Chevrolet also includes with each Camaro a relatively difficult to secure tonneau cover made from black vinyl.
What’s it look like?
With the top down, the Camaro makes the most of its huge haunches and gargantuan five-spoke RS-package alloy wheels. Compared to the sedan squished greenhouse, the Convertible’s proportions are spot on spectacular. Hunkered and ready to prowl, the Camaro Convertible is nothing short of unique – especially in Inferno Orange with optional ($470) black stripes as seen in our tester.
Its details don’t vary much from the coupe, which means that the front fascia is designed to recall the first generation Camaros, while side scalloping just fore of the rear wheel arches is supposed to make you think specifically of the ’69 model. And that’s a point Chevrolet really wanted to make back in May when it used a white and orange Camaro SS Convertible to set the pace at the Indianapolis 500. Looking just like the Camaro that paced the ’69 race, the 2011 version was lacking only the distinctive houndstooth upholstery.
Regardless of top type, we’re still not totally sold on the Camaro’s big butt, which seems a little fussy in its details compared to the Dodge Challenger. But at least it’s distinctive, especially with its 275/40-20 tires wrapped around nine-inch-wide rear wheels.
With its top raised, the convertible’s roofline follows that of its hardtop brother – an impressive feat. In fact, it rather looks like a Camaro with a bad toupee, if that can be construed as a good thing.
And on the inside?
Again, things probably seem pretty familiar here if you’re used to the Camaro hardtop. Although our well-optioned tester was priced in premium car territory, its rather dour interior feels like a better match to the base cars that start about $20,000 less than the car you see here.
That’s not to say that things don’t look pretty good, however. Deeply inset gauges affront the driver behind a three-spoke retro-style steering wheel. With white piping and redundant controls, the wheel seems right at home. The wide dashboard continues with retro-styled gauges set just ahead of the gear lever and unique audio and climate control switchgear not seen in the rest of the Chevrolet lineup. Two-tone seats (part of a $500 package) look and feel the part thanks to their perforated leather.
But that’s just a cursory look, for the most part. A few minutes behind the wheel is all it takes for the annoyances to start adding up. For starters, although the materials aren’t overly shiny and seemed well assembled, there’s nary a soft touch plastic to be found. Then there’s that steering wheel, with its not-quite-round rim and impossible to reach buttons. Keep going and you’ll find that the audio system’s rocker controls are sometimes needlessly difficult to operate. Top it all off with gauges that come across looking more like retro-cheese than retro-please and you’re stuck with an interior that doesn’t quite live up to the swagger outside.
The folded top takes up about a quarter of the trunk’s room, but you can still wedge about 7.5 feet worth of crushable luggage for top-down motoring. Or you can put things in the back seat, which is actually among the roomier we’ve seen in a two-door droptop.
Still, we’ll take the Convertible over the coupe’s interior for one main reason – drop the top and those miserable blind spots that plague the coupe are gone entirely. Just don’t put the top up.
But does it go?
The big LS3 is the largest engine in its class, if you don’t count the Dodge Challenger SRT8 392′s new 6.4-liter unit. Naturally, things got off to a good start.
Its 426 ponies peak at a high 5,900 rpm and torque reaches 420 lb-ft. at 4,600 rpm, meaning this engine needs to be revved to make the most of its grunt. But that kind of power easily overcomes the positively portly 4,100 lbs. curb weight once you’re in the upper reaches of the rev range. A multi-mode traction and stability control helps make sure that you don’t do anything especially stupid (engage sport mode with one light tap of the stability button and you’ll get a little more wiggle room for rev-limiter-bouncing drift moves).
The big V8 is a drinker, but careful gearing means it’s rated at a not-unreasonable 16/24 mpg, about par with what we saw when not playing with the skinny pedal.
The droptop doesn’t move much slower than the coupe, meaning it should hit 60 mph in just under five seconds if you can shift the six-speed stick fast enough. A precise unit with short throws and a big leather-wrapped gear lever seemingly dropped down from the heavens, the six-speed was a delight to row around.
So to the Camaro’s tiller, which, although not offering quite the precision of the lighter Mustang or even the 250 lbs.-lighter Camaro coupe, seemed reasonably well balanced and offered decent feel through the steering column. Wide tires make the best of grip, while cornering is positively flat. Camaro’s girth means it lacks the precise feel of, say, a Mazda MX-5 Miata, but this car is more about cruising with the top down and listening to the grumble of the V8 roaring through the otherwise still air. And that air really doesn’t disturb the cabin with wind buffeting, even at high speeds.
And that’s definitely where it excels. Its structure felt tight and solid, with only a little scuttle shake and some light steering column wobble reminding us that it was missing its top. Some extra bracing beneath the skin helps out a lot, so much so that Chevrolet saw fit to leave the coupe’s suspension tuning for the convertible – something you won’t find in the softer Mustang.
Camaro rides firmly but ultimately feels forgiving and composed, even over the worst roads we could find. By no means a corner carver, the Camaro SS Convertiblewas nonetheless a great open road machine.
Why you would buy it:
You keep backing into Corollas in your Camaro coupe because of the blind spots.
Why you wouldn’t:
You’re a Mustang man (or woman).
Leftlane’s bottom line
Infinitely more appealing with its top peeled back, the Camaro almost seems reborn as a convertible. In SS garb, it packs the motivation – and the exhaust growl – to harken back to the ’60s, but its rock solid structure and composed ride are positively 2011.
This summer’s cool cruiser has arrived.
2011 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS Convertible base price, $39,650. As tested, $42,995.
RS Package, $1,200; Interior Accent Trim Package, $500; Black Stripe Package, $470; Inferno Orange Metallic, $325; Destination, $850.
Post Source:http://www.leftlanenews.com/chevrolet-camaro-ss-convertible-review.html
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