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First Drive: Chevrolet Camaro. Image by Chevrolet.

First Drive: Chevrolet Camaro
Chevy's muscle car is about to become official in the UK.

   



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| First Drive | La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland | Chevrolet Camaro |

Overall rating: 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5

You've seen the grey imports, you've seen it as Bumblebee in Transformers and now the Chevrolet Camaro is about to go on sale officially in the UK. It's every inch the muscle car, promising good value, mean looks and a behemoth of a V8 engine.

Key Facts

Pricing: £34,995
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Body style: two-door coupé
Rivals: Vauxhall VXR8, Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger
CO2 emissions: 329g/km
Combined economy: 20mpg
Top speed: 155mph
0-62mph: 5.2 seconds
Power: 426bhp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 420lb.ft at 4,600rpm

In the Metal: 4 4 4 4 4

Chevy's halo model is yet another retro nod to the past. There are plenty of elements of previous Camaros in the styling like the V-shaped nose, but the modern car dwarfs its ancestors with its enormous proportions. That doesn't stop it from looking the business, though.

The cabin is less inspiring. A lot of the materials - the door linings especially - are a bit on the cheap side and the regular Chevrolet steering wheel just doesn't feel quite special enough. The gear stick is cool though - it's a stubbly rectangle of a thing - and there's a charming plethora of square dials at the bottom of the dash displaying old-fashioned readouts like oil pressure and battery voltage.

Driving it: 3 3 3 3 3

Chevrolet has made a couple of changes to adapt the car for European tastes - namely a faster steering rack and different damper ratings. For the most part, though, it's stock Camaro, which means it's big, chunky and powerful. The first thing you become aware of is the unwieldy size and shape of the thing - just knowing where the corners are takes some deciphering.

Spend a few miles behind the wheel and you get the gist of it. The steering, brakes and gearshift are all thick and stodgy. There isn't a lot of feedback through the wheel - it's just heavy - and body control isn't as tight as anything European, though it is comfortable. There's plenty of point and squirt power and torque but the laziness of the delivery and the sheer size and weight of the thing mean it doesn't feel that quick off the mark.

By far and away the Camaro's best feature is the sound it makes. The giant, old-fashioned V8 cannot be bettered for the rumble, gargle and roar it consistently emits and, despite the Chevy's flaws, you can love it for that alone.

What you get for your Money: 3 3 3 3 3

At a fiver less than £35,000, the Camaro is a reasonable amount of car for the money. Yeah, it's thirsty as hell and it'll probably suffer savage depreciation, but crucially, the price tag is rather more sensible than the Vauxhall VXR8's lofty figure of £45,000.

Worth Noting

The Camaro will be available as a special order only, so don't expect to see fleets of them lining Chevy's showrooms. It's unlikely to sell in huge numbers as it is and the firm remained cagey about exactly how many it's expecting to shift. You'll be able to buy a convertible version, too, which starts at £39,995.

Summary

The latest Chevrolet Camaro has picked up from where the Vauxhall Monaro left off. It isn't as competent as established European performance models, but it's an honest to goodness muscle car, a right giggle and decent value. Crippling fuel economy and the fact that it's left-hand drive only limit its appeal, but you can't fail to revel in its guilty pleasures.


Jack Carfrae - 12 Oct 2011



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2012 Chevrolet Camaro. Image by Chevrolet.
 

2012 Chevrolet Camaro. Image by Chevrolet.
 

2012 Chevrolet Camaro. Image by Chevrolet.
 

2012 Chevrolet Camaro. Image by Chevrolet.
 

2012 Chevrolet Camaro. Image by Chevrolet.
 

2012 Chevrolet Camaro. Image by Chevrolet.
 






 

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