Rounding Out the Car of the Year-Winning Lineup
As hard as it may be to believe, the Chevrolet Camaro lineup was incomplete when we named it our 2016 Car of the Year. The ponycar’s sixth generation launched with a hardtop and just two engines: a 3.6-liter V-6 and a 6.2-liter V-8. With GM’s Lansing, Michigan, plant now churning out Camaros at full steam, I had a chance to spend a day near Death Valley to sample the new 2016 Chevy Camaro Convertible and the new Camaro 2.0 Turbo base model, the first turbocharged Camaro ever.
Camaro Convertible
Convertibles used to be an afterthought to most manufacturers; they’d lazily chop off the roof, add some extra bracing to make up for the lack of a structural member, and call it a day. The previous-generation Camaro followed that school of thought, but GM has rectified things with the new sixth-gen Camaro Convertible. The Camaro’s Alpha platform is modular in nature, allowing Chevy to maintain the Camaro Coupe’s tremendous structural rigidity in cloth-top form. Chevrolet does this with 11 different modular structural braces that it applies to Camaro Convertibles based on powertrain requirements. For example, a V-8-powered Camaro Convertible SS has a strut tower brace under the hood, but I-4- and V-6-powered Camaro Convertibles do without the unneeded hardware, saving precious pounds on the less powerful cars.
The rest of the 2016 Camaro Convertible package is as thoughtfully done as its extra chassis bracing. The high-quality soft top is fully power-operated this year, dropping in 16 seconds and rising up again in 17 seconds. The top works at speeds up to 30 mph and hides behind a hard tonneau cover painted to match the body, giving the Camaro a much sleeker look with the top down without the fuss of a vinyl cover.
As you’d expect, the new Camaro Convertible drives much like the coupe it’s based on. It’s available with three engines: a 2.0-liter, turbocharged I-4 making 275 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque; a 3.6-liter V-6 producing 335 hp and 284 lb-ft of torque; and a 6.2-liter V-8 generating 455 hp and 455 lb-ft of torque. I focused my efforts on the V-8-powered SS version.
Go big or go home, right?
Roughly 150 pounds heavier than its coupe counterpart, the Camaro Convertible SS shrugs at the extra weight. Our six-speed manual-equipped tester still roars quickly away from stoplights, the drop top offering the added benefit of some extra sonic thrills from the LT1 V-8. The Camaro Convertible SS should do 0-60 mph in about 4.1 seconds. If you get sick of all the noise (why would you?), the cabin remains impressively quiet for a convertible with the top up.
We noticed no real difference between the Camaro Convertible’s ride and steering feel or any extra rattles versus the coupe, but we’ll have to spend more time with the car before we can make a verdict.
Camaro 2.0 Turbo
The Ford Mustang went turbo for the first time back 1979, but the 2016 base model represents the first time a turbocharger has ever found its way under the hood of a Camaro—well, a stock one, at least. Although Ford also happens to currently have a Mustang powered by a turbo-four, Chevy insists that the Camaro 2.0 Turbo is actually designed to compete against the base Mustang V-6; the Camaro V-6 is a Mustang EcoBoost competitor. Whatever.
Regardless, the Camaro’s 2.0-liter, turbocharged I-4 is a sweet one. Shared with the related Cadillac ATS, the boosted four-pot is paired with either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic. There’s just a hint of lag from the engine off the line, but once spooled up around 2,100 rpm, the turbo offers up a nice wave of torque to surf up through most of the rev range. Aside from the lag, the turbocharged Camaro is deceptively quick off the line, the engine making all the right noises as you accelerate. According to Chevy, the Camaro 2.0 Turbo should do 0-60 mph in just 5.4 seconds, which is just a tenth of a second behind the quickest 2016 Camaro V-6 we’ve tested; that one costs a $1,495 premium over the Turbo’s $26,965 base price.
Both transmissions are pretty good. Enthusiasts will obviously opt for the standard six-speed manual. Clutch take-up takes a bit of time to get used to, but shifts are generally pretty good, even if the gearbox is notchier than the Camaro SS’ manual. The eight-speed automatic, a $1,495 option, is great, too. It happily rattles off quick up- and downshifts when hustling and doesn’t hunt on the highway. Manual-equipped Camaro 2.0 Turbos are EPA-rated at 21/30/24 mpg city/highway/combined, and automatic models net 22/31/25 mpg.
As much as I’d like to tell you that the only engine worth considering in the 2016 Camaro is the V-8, truthfully the full Camaro powertrain lineup is solid, and the 2.0-liter turbo is especially compelling. I mean, sure, buy a Camaro SS if you have the means, but there’s no shame in sticking with the base engine here, especially if its instrumented test numbers live up to Chevy’s claims. Did someone say budget ATS Coupe?
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