2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS: A Viable Family Car? Sure

Hey, I once used 1993 and 1995 Probe GTs as family cars. My first son, fortunately, was not quite the 6'-5" that he is now...

Really, you can fit someone in the back seat? Could they make it on a 4 hour drive? How about 2 hours? How about 45 mins?

Would it be semi-comfortable, for a coupe, or is it just that they can fit?

Both my 94 grand cherokee and my folk's 2002 grand cherokee have gas cap holders. Has this feature gone out of vogue in recent years?

Seems like poor packaging for such a large car. I'm 6'1" and can easily "sit behind myself" in my GTI.

That being said, it looks great and has a big V8... who the hell cares about the backseat?

I remember when the A8 got praised for having a gas cap holder like that. I guess it was engineered to much higher standards though.

"Seems like poor packaging for such a large car. I'm 6'1" and can easily "sit behind myself" in my GTI."

Really? In my 2004 Golf (4 door) I could most certainly not sit behind myself (6'2") - must be some changes for the Mark V (assuming you have this...)

^i'm about 6 - 6'1", and can fit behind my drivers seat in my mkv rabbit.

I'm pretty amazed you can fit a yard gnome in the backseat, let alone a human being. Albeit a youngling.

The comparisons between this and the Nissan Z in the other thread seemed odd to me, and here's the proof. Camaro or Z? Why not both? The Camaro would work just fine for me as a daily driver as its fairly comfortable and can fit 4 in a pinch (all I need). The Nissan is harder, louder, and more of a sports car. Save it for the weekend.

I recall the gas tether option as being a "detail that counts".

http://blogs.edmunds.com/roadtests/2008/10/2008-audi-r8-the-details-count.html

I guess there are different rules for domestic cars. But seriously Karl, what is actually wrong with the gas cap tether? Is the rear seat quick release actually difficult to reach? Seems to me nether of these are actual problems.

Do you guys get paid by the complaint? Are there bonuses awarded for best nitpick?

bcboom, if you look through the comments on the R8 post, you'll see that the praise for the R8 was misguided. There are actually cut-outs on the Audi's gas cap that allow it to rest on top of the filler door. The tether length was probably just a coincidence.

bcboom: he didn't complain about the tether so I'm not sure where your angst is coming from.

As for the seat quick release, my MINI had the same arrangement. I actually much prefer the seat-back lever arrangement, though it sometimes took some explaining to get people to find it.

That's interesting about the quick release lever. Earlier reviews said it didn't have one at all, so that makes me feel better that it at least has something, even if it isn't the best placement.

The gas cap hook is disappointingly small. So they were smart enough to include one, but for some reason they made one that was just barely usable. I fault GM for that one. Just because some car makers don't include this at all doesn't make the Camaro's right.

I would like to also add that this one post at least counters my expectation that the Camaro's LT fleet status would result in nothing more than mullet bashing. These are the areas the LT blog is useful for. I still completely disagree with the assessment of the steering wheel, but at least this post doesn't just rehash common criticisms from initial tests.

dougtheeng: you're right - i misread his post. Thanks for pointing that out.

Karl- apologies for the error.

No worries.

And to clarify on rear seat comfort -- it is fully comfortable for my kids. They were both in the car for about 90 minutes yesterday with no complaints. And that includes no heat complaints, despite the sweltering temps. Camaro's A/C kicks almost as much booty as its V8, and if you position the central dash vents just right the cool air makes an uninterrupted trip to the rear seat area.

Karl

Comparing a RWD muscle car to a front drive Rabbit is a little silly, IYAM.

Thank you Karl.

I'd like to hear how adults take the ride back there, but this does suprise me. All the reviews I read indicate that the area back there is tiny, or maybe on par with other coupes.

Kids don't really need a lot of space. When I was a kid, my dad had a 65 Mustang and the only complaint from me and my three other brothers was who had to ride on the hump in the middle of the rear seat.

But even better than that was the Fiat 600 with a sunroof that my dad had. We fit 13 neighborhood kids, all standing on the seats with our heads out the roof and my dad drove until the car quit, which it did whenever it hit a big enough bump in the road. You hoped that it quit on a hill because the started didn't work and you had to push start it.

Jill Claybrook would have a fit!

"I would like to also add that this one post at least counters my expectation that the Camaro's LT fleet status would result in nothing more than mullet bashing."

Give it time- they just got the car. Besides, Karl actually likes these types of cars you aren't likely to get mindless bashing based on dated stereotypes from him. Most of the complaints will come from those who are of the school of thought that any execution of a detail that differs from what BMW or Audi do is wrong. Plenty of those folks around here. In other words, every car could be perfect if they copied everything BMW does.

If I had a family and wanted to buy a coupe, I'd favor the Dodge Challenger. Much more leg room and a softer ride...though they have to find a way to get the driver's seat to fold down.

Another option is the RX-8.

Clearly the Challenger is the long distance cruiser champ of the bunch, but if you actually want to turn somewhere in there, the Camaro wins.

If you are actually dependent on the "top spec'd" handler in order to make a car "turn", then you are probably not fit to drive any of these cars. A true driver will be able to (and learn how to) extract whatever he needs from a car to make it do what he wants. Unless you can leverage this dynamic, not even a car that corners at 1g is going to save you.

Yeah stovt, maybe if you were a good driver, you would simply get the Challenger and defy physics...

Challenger is definitely aimed more at Boomers who do not need a hard core coupe. Challenger has the most space and best ride it seems. Camaro is aimed at a wider age range of people and is supposed to attract people who dont even remember the Camaros of the late 60s.

Stovt and bbechtel, it's not about "defying physics". It's about perspective. By extending upon this questionable logic, we could also premise that all three (Camaro, Mustang, Challenger) are hopelessly sloppy pigs of handlers compared to a Corvette or Viper, right? How could you possibly "turn" in any of those 3, given the extreme handling envelope of a Corvette and Viper, right?

That's where perspective comes in to make you realize that it isn't all about the extremes unless you plan to only drive in an extreme manner (which is highly unlikely on any public street you may care to enjoy a trip in your new ride). The fact remains that there is still *enough* performance envelope in any of the 3 to pretty well cover anything sane you might want to try on a public street. *Skill* is going to matter more, rather than magazine specs. *Skill* is going to allow you to leverage all the car has to offer for the greatest effect, rather than the unskilled specs-chaser who believes that max spec will actually be attainable simply because the car is rated for it. The car still needs the "right hands" to achieve what it does. When you put do put the right hands on a car, they aren't going to be worried about minor differences in the specs between cars, rather how much they can learn about the car to get the most out of what it can do.