At 5am, I started out on the 360 mile drive to be with my family for Thanksgiving. Heated seats? Check. Full tank? Check. Coffee? Check. There was a surprising amount of traffic heading out of town for a Thanksgiving early morning, mostly trucks and the family truckster caravans. Thankfully the Camaro has a TON of power and it allowed me to pass the long lines of Lemmings on their trek north.
My exposure to the new Camaro has been fairly limited. I'm not a muscle car kind of guy, but I thought it'd be fun to have a go at it over the long weekend. Before I got in the car, I kept hearing people complain about the shifter and steering wheel. After a few hundred miles, I couldn't have agreed more.
I get a touch of arthritis in my hands in the winter weather and the oddly narrow but deep set ring of the steering wheel made it uncomfortable for me to grip the wheel in any place other than the 10 & 2 position. When you're doing the long haul, you like to grip the wheel in places other than that position. It became annoying and uncomfortable after a few hours
Because duty (aka my job) called and needed me at Dodger stadium on Sunday morning for the Chevy Volt drive, I made the drive south on Saturday. Again, loved the power for passing, fairly comfortable ride, but the steering wheel really annoyed me and my old man hands. It made my uncomfortable condition worse.
For the most part, I liked driving the Camaro on short trips around town. Normally this isn't my kind of car, but a couple of nice blip-down shifts, the simple joy of a gurggling exhaust note and the thrill of a good acceleration pull make this thing plenty of fun to drive around town. Ultimately that steering wheel is a deal breaker for me. To make this car work for me, I'd have to get a fat grip sport style steering wheel installed to alleviate the discomfort and I don't think I love it that much to do so.
Scott Jacobs, Senior Photographer @ 8,854 miles
chavis10 says:
01:19 PM, 12/ 1/09
I'm starting to see these everywhere. Feel sorry for the drivers though once we starting getting snow in a month. I wonder how much winter tires cost in those sizes?
nealibob says:
02:51 PM, 12/ 1/09
@chavis10: probably about $1200+ for a cheap set of alloys and winter performance tires.
I was test driving some Hondas with my wife yesterday, and I kept thinking of the Camaro's steering wheel. Honda has a similar look in the Civic and somewhat in the Accord, IMHO, but the wheel is actually quite comfortable and usable.
lowmilelude says:
06:43 AM, 12/ 2/09
Shoot, for $1200 I'd just buy and old snow day beater. Plus I wouldn't have to deal with Michigan Cancer or the added mileage on my precious midlife crisis/compensation vehicle.
nuieve says:
11:08 AM, 12/ 9/09
lowmiledude,
So you'd rather drive some old unsafe beater instead of your new Camaro the whole winter for the same money? Very smart. It's like buying a big house and then living on the street so as not to pay heating bills.
induscreed says:
01:08 PM, 12/11/09
I own a 2005 BMW Z4 and I have to say, BMW steering wheels are hard to beat but that being said, I happened to drive a 2010 Honda civic and I loved the steering wheel, it was just the right size and feel.