2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS Long-Term Road Test (2024)

From the August 2017 issue of Car and Driver.

Consider this: When we parted ways with our long-term Corvette Stingray after 40,000 miles in the fall of 2015, it had consumed a set of rear tires, an HVAC controller, a set of axle seals, and an engine. Though much of this hardware was covered under warranty, the experience separated us from our sanity as thoroughly as it did the Stingray from its dignity. It left us wondering if Chevy’s wondercar—and particularly that car’s engine, the LT1 6.2-liter V-8—was up to the task of real perform­ance-car duty. Further souring the exploit: We paid for the Corvette’s first three oil and filter changes, which should have been covered by GM’s maintenance plan.

Only two of those experiences replayed themselves with our long-term Camaro SS, which uses the same engine minus the dry-sump lubrication system. Once again, we paid the tab on a couple of oil changes that should have fallen to Chevy’s Complete Care program and replaced a pair of worn rear tires. Yet the Camaro didn’t throw a single mechanical fault—not one—on its way to 40,000 miles.

And, with only one exception, it matched or bettered every major perform­ance milestone it achieved in its initial test when we reevaluated it to wrap this story. At 40,597 miles, its zero-to-60 time (4.0 seconds) and quarter-mile time (12.3 seconds at 118 mph) remained identical to what we meas­ured at 3949 miles, 13 months earlier. Plus, its roadholding improved from 0.98 g in its first test to 1.01 g’s at the end—using the same front tires it had in the ­earlier trial. Braking from 70 mph was identical at 149 feet. It also averaged 20 mpg during the course of its stay, 1 mpg better than the EPA’s combined rating. We replaced the Camaro’s rear Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 run-flat tires before our final test, but the Goodyear summer rubber split time on the car with Pirelli Sotozero winter tires.

Because excess is the whole point in Camaro-land, we outfitted ours with the most powerful engine then available, the 455-hp LT1. Mated with a six-speed manual and a limited-slip differential, the small-block made many friends during its time here. The 2016 V-8–equipped SS coupe started at $37,295, and we added only five options. The $5000 2SS package provided heated and ventilated power seats, a heated steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, and an 8.0-inch touchscreen. Our only per­form­ance add-ons were the $1695 magnetic-ride-control suspension and the $895 dual-mode exhaust, but we also tacked on the $495 Mylink audio system with navigation and black 20-inch, five-spoke wheels for $200. All in, a $45,580 Camaro.

Arriving in February 2016, our Alpha-platform Camaro, which GM says is 220 pounds lighter than the Zeta-platform car it replaces, was fresh off a comparison-test victory over the Mustang GT and had just received its first of two 10Best trophies (it won in 2016 and 2017). That we like this car is no secret. Part of this affection—the largest part, it seems—is the way it sounds. In a logbook fraught with nitpicks, there’s not a single complaint about the Camaro’s engine noise. It is, in fact, this car’s opus, its contribution to the modern muscle-car symphony.

Punch the dash-mounted start button, which is largely hidden from view behind the steering wheel, and the Camaro’s LT1 doesn’t just start, it explodes to life. Its initial eight-cylinder outburst is more patriotic than Lee Greenwood belting out “God Bless the USA” from the crown of the Statue of Liberty. It’s wake-the-neighbors rowdy if lit in sport mode—the Camaro retains its drive mode through key cycles—but even across-the-street eye rollers forgive the noise if you offer them a ride.

Remarkably, the boom subsides, and thanks to the dual-mode exhaust, the Camaro becomes everyday-livable just by changing drive modes. Indeed, the Camaro’s suspension compliance and travel came in for a lot of praise. The logbook bleeds with as many testimonials about the car’s civility as it does with notes on its perform­ance. “It’s a nice grand tourer with creamy ride quality and comfortable seats,” said associate online editor Joseph Capparella.

Parallels with the Mustang GT, which shared space in our long-term fleet during much of the Camaro’s stint, were inevitable and much documented in the long-term wrap on the Ford. Demanding a one-word answer to one of the older questions in our craft—Camaro or Mustang?—elicits mayhem among the professionally opinionated, who insist on qualifying their response. Even so, an impromptu office quiz produced one simple, undeniable result: 50 percent more of us vote Camaro.

Notes like “easier to drive” and “more pleasant” venerate the Camaro in these comparisons. But sprinkled among them are more thoughtful reflections, such as: “The LT1’s bawl alone puts the Camaro beyond the Mustang; the car’s comprehensive dynamic superiority is just icing on the cake.”

Nevertheless, one of the Camaro’s strengths is its overall ease of use. An effortlessly modulated yet interminably robust clutch mediates between the 455-pound-feet lump up front and the 275-section-width Goodyears out back. A shifter with reasonable-length throws, well-defined gates, and perfect effort accommodates a lazy row of gears as capably as it does the no-lift shifts we executed during testing. Though that’s not a technique we employ in standard tests, Chevy calibrates for it so we take advantage.

At a much slower pace, the fuel-saving skip-shift algorithm that forces an upshift from first to fourth gear during tepid acceleration is more pronounced and intrusive here than in any recent GM vehicle, Corvette included.

It turns, too. The sport and track modes up its handling beyond what sane people are willing to explore on our roads. There’s a reason the 1LE version of this Camaro is quicker than an Audi R8 V-10 Plus in our Lightning Lap throwdown around Virginia International Raceway: The Camaro is no longer a knuckle-dragging, Cro-Magnon pony car. It is now a wildly capable piece of driving hardware, with the suspension and brakes to indulge those who would push the car to its limits. “It’s easy to feel as if you’re driving it hard without taking any real risks,” notes the logbook at 27,000 miles.

Buying a Camaro and then griping about back-seat space is like going to a NASCAR race and bitching about the wine. Nevertheless, here’s what you must know: The Camaro has a narrow greenhouse, unknowable corners, near-zero rear visibility, and, yes, back seats that are less usable than a Mustang’s. These facts were not lost on our logbook scribes. “It’s hard to imagine that Chevy could have made it less practical if it tried,” reads one entry. The words “gun slit,” “periscope,” and “cave” appear so many times in our notes that we have forever banished them from the C/D lexicon. But there’s no arguing with the truth; ­Stevie Wonder has a better sense of where his car is than the Camaro driver in some situations. It’s a dilemma, and it’s one that nearly half of us won’t tolerate—even in exchange for all the dynamic blessings.

There are other problems, such as the fact that when its cupholders are filled with, well, cups, there’s no sensible and accessible location to put a cellphone. So it’s no small paradox that Chevy provides a wireless charging platform for compatible mobile phones behind the front seats. Chevy would likely point out here that our car offers Android Auto and Apple Carplay. But small-item storage is a weakness. The pockets housed in the rearmost portion of the coupe’s enormous doors are so puny and poorly placed that they can only be filled with irony.

A more worrying issue was our car’s on-again, off-again oil consumption, as well as a dealer who, on at least one occasion, left the sump two quarts low after an oil and filter change. Never once did we witness a low-oil warning light, nor see signs of burning or leaking oil, but regular checks proved that by 20,000 miles, the consumption rate worked out to one quart every 4700 miles. A GM representative said that this fell “within the range of normal consumption.” A 10-quart capacity doesn’t hurt in this scenario, and only once after the short fill at 21,708 miles did we measure more consumption. We changed the oil and filter five times for a total of $439, which included inspections and a cabin air filter. Our only other service to the car was to rebalance the tires once to quell a vibration.

That the Camaro is a capable perform­ance car as well as a smooth-riding everyday partner is certain. That it’s a car for everyone who wants those attributes is less so. We remain divided on whether its obvious and painful compromises—ones that most profoundly impact necessary tasks such as, say, parking—are worth it. This entry from near the end of the Camaro’s run in our stable sums it up best: “It is worth making some very questionable life choices to own a Camaro SS. This thing realizes every last inch and penny of the Corvette’s otherwise untouchable performance. Yes, it is deeply and stupidly flawed, but it is perfect in a way that the Mustang will never be.”

Chevy gets much right with the Camaro, but the coupe remains marred by deficiencies any reasonable person can’t ignore. If it could combine the strengths of unhinged perform­ance coupled to downright comfortable ride quality with the ability to see out of the thing, plus some small-item storage, it would make the Mustang question go away entirely.

Rants & Raves

“When the Camaro’s test data is compared with that of a Z51 Stingray, they are neck and neck, which is insane for the money.” —David Beard

“I’d rather live with the Mustang day to day.” —Mike Sutton

“This car is so much easier to drive in traffic than the Mustang thanks to the smooth clutch and rev matching.” —Annie White

“The two-mode exhaust option is probably one of the most pony-car-appropriate features ever.” —Dave VanderWerp

“If you have to use reverse, it’s best to just accept that you’ll probably back into something.” —Jared Gall

“After 10 years of silent service, skip shift has reemerged as a real pain in the ass.” —Eric Tingwall

“Why are the vents at my knees?” —Joseph Capparella

“How about a vent or two for, um, the rest of me?” —Alexander Stoklosa

“The interior alone is enough for me to vote it down in a comparo.” —David Beard

WHAT WE LIKE: As we slide past 30,000 miles in the Camaro, we’ve filled its tank 122 times and are hanging onto a 20-mpg average, including a best tankful of 26 mpg. That average fuel economy is identical to our long-term Ford Mustang’s at this same milestone in its test. All of this matters not one whit, however. Because—and possibly you’ve noticed this about us—we don’t give two rips about fuel economy in this 455-hp pavement striper.

Mostly, things are as they have been. Staffers remain entranced by the Camaro’s engine sound, and many still can’t resist writing trite clichés in the Camaro’s logbook that use the words “gun” and “slit” to describe its visibility.

Others, however, took the time to call out some of the Camaro’s finer points, noting that, with the LT1 V-8, it puts Corvette-level performance within reach of the common man.

Despite its snarling persona, the Camaro proves on many occasions to be a big old teddy bear. Said one driver: “For all its performance, this car is very easy to drive around lazily with very little throttle.” Exploiting its wide bandwidth is something of a pastime around here—to the extent that some editors are calling it a GT car. At times, the Camaro is downright European in its manners, while always holding close to the surface its co*cksure American roots.

Another editor summed it up nicely: “This thing can barely contain its rage. It’s a berserker.”

WHAT WE DON’T LIKE: A set of Pirelli Sottozero winter tires enabled the Camaro to nudge its way through a winter of mostly gloomy rain. Not a capable snow-goer, the SS nonetheless dug and slid and, eventually, found enough grip to move ungracefully under its own power in packed snow. This is not a winter car, even on winter rubber. Cold weather also revealed a shifter that became recalcitrant, even in temps as moderate as 40 degrees. First and reverse proved difficult to engage, although everything loosened up once the fluids came up to temperature.

The Camaro lacks a dedicated button to cancel its cruise control, which annoyed more than one driver, and several found the Camaro’s Apple CarPlay interface infuriatingly reluctant to actually act like an Apple product, with complaints mostly centered on the inability to control specific apps.

Here’s the part where we complain about claustrophobia. Again. Virtually every positive comment in the logbook comes with the caveat that, yes, the Camaro’s remarkable power, noise, ride/handling balance, and overall presence is inescapably accompanied by a mention of its hopeless visibility and poor use of space.

WHAT WENT WRONG: Nothing went wrong with the Camaro, but its continued flirtation with dramatic oil consumption remains unsettling. We added 3.5 quarts of oil between 20,000 and 30,000 miles, two of which were the result of an underfilled sump at a local dealer at 21,700 miles. The other 1.5 quarts were consumption related, one of which was run through in less than 1800 miles, a rate far greater than the one quart every 4700 miles that Chevy dismissed as normal in our previous update. Nonetheless, the consumption proved inconsistent, as later checks showed no need to add oil. The oil was changed again at about 29,000 miles at a cost of $59. This time, the dealer remembered to pour in all 10 quarts.

Otherwise, the Camaro has failed us precisely zero times, not once leaving us stranded or ever exhibiting mechanical or electrical problems. It is a tire-smoking picture of reliability.

WHERE WE WENT: Indiana and Ohio are the only states outside of Michigan that the Camaro visited since our 20,000-mile update. And besides a trip to Hicksville, Ohio, a place we’re tempted to shower in jokes, none of the journeys, including to Mulletsburg, Indiana, produced information of note.

Months in Fleet: 14 months Current Mileage: 30,849 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 20 mpg Fuel Tank Size: 19.0 gal Fuel Range: 380 miles
Service: $357 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0

WHAT WE LIKE: Praise for the Camaro’s exhaust sound and the power and flexibility of its engine continues to fill the logbook. The purely American symphony generated by the LT1 V-8 from idle to its 6500-rpm redline is among the car’s greatest strengths.

Perhaps most surprising, however, is our coupe’s consistent real-world fuel economy. At 20 mpg, it continues to exceed the EPA’s 19-mpg combined estimate—and this isn’t a car we drive like a Toyota Prius. Given our Camaro pilots’ disinterest in helping boost average economy, and despite several tankfuls that registered in the low teens, it’s an impressive performance. Notably, our best tank, at 25 mpg, matches the EPA highway rating. But boasting about the fuel economy in a 455-hp pony car is like going to a Top Fuel drag race and raving about the kettle corn.

Although the Camaro’s interior has been a source of criticism, some notes since the last update compliment its modern design, which eschews the retro overtones that afflicted the previous-generation Camaro. We continue to be impressed with the seat comfort and support, especially on long-distance drives. Other laudables? One editor appreciated that the selected drive mode is retained through key cycles. Put it in Sport, and it stays there. We wish we could say the same for the rev-matching feature, but we’ll take every little victory.

Overall, we like the Camaro family so much that, since our long-termer’s last update, the model earned its second-straight 10Best Cars award.

WHAT WE DON’T LIKE: Family trips are a pile of laughs in the Camaro, partially because of its wild impracticality but also because burnouts are universally loved among eight-year-olds. Even so, the rear seats and seatbelt receivers are at such an angle as to make fastening children and their seats a hassle, and then there’s the yoga required for adults to get back there to attempt the task in the first place. Even staffers roughly five and a half feet tall lack headroom when seated in the back. No surprises here.

Small-item storage is an ongoing gripe, and more than one editor finds the ambient interior lighting too bright with the IP fully dimmed. Our staffers’ kids, though, love the color options for the door and dashboard backlighting.

And, yes, some of us are still discovering that it’s impossible to see out of this thing. Several commenters again noted that they’d rather drive a Ford Mustang for daily use, despite the Camaro’s performance perks.

WHAT WENT WRONG: While we’ve had no repair-related expenditures thus far, our SS is beginning to show signs of wear. Some drivers complain that there’s increased tolerance between the driver’s seat and its mounting rails, which allows the seat to move during braking maneuvers—although others, including this author, don’t notice it.

We added another quart of oil since our previous update (a total of 4.5 quarts in addition to the scheduled oil changes), which puts the average consumption rate at one quart every 4700 miles or so. A GM representative said that this rate “falls within normal consumption.”

WHERE WE WENT: Being a coupe limits the Camaro’s desirability as a family hauler, so it sees fewer road trips than other long-term test vehicles. Except for one 300-mile trip to the west side of Michigan, all of our driving has been limited to the roads around C/D World Headquarters in Ann Arbor. However, don’t think that excuses the Camaro from rigorous chassis exercise, given the workout the absolutely horrible Michigan pavement gives the suspension. We switched to Pirelli Sottozero winter tires at 19,451 miles in preparation for doing our best Stig Blomqvist impressions in the coming snowy months.

Months in Fleet: 9 months Current Mileage: 20,801 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 20 mpg Fuel Tank Size: 19.0 gal Fuel Range: 380 miles
Service: $184 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0

WHAT WE LIKE: Besides the Camaro’s ability to depart C/D World Headquarters at the end of a workday sideways in a plume of glorious smoke, you mean? Truth is, we’ve found a lot more to like. The most complimented items in our long-term Camaro’s logbook are power and ride comfort. That’s the Chevrolet Camaro SS in 2016: stupid fast and strikingly comfortable. The next most admired attributes? Handling and chassis composure. This Camaro can abbreviate apexes better than its legacy implies. Road trippers took to the Camaro’s long-distance comfort keenly, noting that both its seats and its suspension offer all-day capability. It’s hard to not like a sports coupe that’s fast and comfortable, disregards midcorner bumps, and demonstrates big grip.

Having its segment counterpart, the 2016 Ford Mustang GT, in our long-term fleet at the same time provides valuable perspective. Several editors noted that the Camaro’s clutch and shifter are easier and more intuitive to use than the Mustang’s—especially in stop-and-go driving.

Other notable entries on the “likes” list include the exhaust sound (“Uncorking the LT1 makes the car,” said one editor) and the ergonomics. Even the small-diameter steering wheel, which is shared with the Corvette, is popular.

WHAT WE DON’T LIKE: Predictably, difficulty seeing out of the Camaro annoys many. Descriptors like “gun slit” and “periscope” litter the logbook with disturbing frequency. It’s “a nightmare for parking and low-speed maneuvering,” wrote one driver. Poor visibility is a deal breaker for many, who would gladly trade the Camaro’s performance for the clearer sightlines offered from the Mustang’s driver’s seat.

And although many like the Camaro’s interior, it’s also the second-most frequently griped about element. The vents, which are ringed by a rotating bezel to adjust climate-control temperatures, draw more criticism than accolades, primarily for low-on-the-dash positioning that translates to a chilly shifting hand. The infotainment screen, tilted slightly down to reduce glare, frustrated several editors who didn’t experience that benefit. For some drivers, the oversize cowl surrounding the instrument cluster further obstructs the view over the hood.

WHAT WENT WRONG: A highway-speed vibration appeared at 6400 miles; rebalancing all four wheels cured the problem before we used the Camaro to shuttle to our annual Lightning Lap tests in Virginia in June. The Camaro went in for its first recommended dealer service at 7500 miles—an uneventful oil and filter change at a cost of $68.41. However, at 11,600 miles, we added another 2.5 quarts of oil—an alarming 25 percent of its total capacity. With no evident oil leaks, the Camaro’s LT1 was either underfilled at the dealer or it’s burning oil. Evidence for the latter is mounting: Another check at 14,200 miles revealed the need for another quart of 5W-30. We will be carefully monitoring the Camaro’s oil consumption going forward. The only other dealer visit was for an Android Auto update at 2100 miles.

WHERE WE WENT: Multiple road trips to Indiana and Virginia proved the Camaro to be a worthwhile distance companion. More interesting than where we’ve gone is the 20 mpg the Camaro has achieved in 14,000 miles of leaden-foot driving; that’s 1 mpg higher than its EPA-estimated combined figure. Logbook notes reveal some editors enduring 1–4 skip-shift entanglements more often than they’d prefer, but let’s not forget that this is a Camaro that runs a 12.3-second quarter-mile and pulls 0.98 g on the skidpad, making it a stunning all-rounder.

Months in Fleet: 5 months Current Mileage: 14,262 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 20 mpg Fuel Tank Size: 19.0 gal Fuel Range: 380 miles
Service: $68.41 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0

Chevrolet’s all-new, sixth-generation 2016 Camaro is lighter and more powerful. It’s a more disciplined machine with meaningful control feel. Its steering, balance, and ability to engage its driver are all unquestionably improved relative to the car it replaces. None of that matters to the wider populace, because, let’s face it, Camaros are for burnouts. And rubber will be melted during this test, no doubt.

Truth is, the 2016 Camaro is good at a lot more than just frying the tires. It’s so comprehensively good, in fact, that it made our 10Best Cars list this year—an honor awarded to the Camaro only one other time since the award’s inception in 1983. And in 1985, when the IROC-Z won, competitors as strong as Ford’s Mustang Shelby GT350 didn’t exist. The Camaro earned its place among the elite with its standout performance and justified a long-term, 40,000-mile relationship.

We ordered an SS coupe and then went heavy with the options. The net result is a $45,580 as-tested price. Camaros start at $26,695, albeit with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. But a Camaro with a four-banger is like seeing AC/DC with Pee-wee Herman standing in for Brian Johnson, er, Axl Rose. There’s also an optional V-6—and it’s fantastic—but we passed that over, too.

We said in the Camaro’s 10Best story that we’d build ours with a V-8, Magnetic Ride Control, and the dual-mode exhaust, and that’s exactly what we did. We also opted for Chevy’s MyLink audio system with an 8.0-inch touchscreen and Bluetooth streaming, along with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability. Options totaled $8285, including the $5000 2SS package, which adds conveniences such as a head-up display, Bose audio, heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, dual-zone automatic climate control, and blind-spot monitoring.

Under the hood is Chevy’s 6.2-liter LT1 small-block V-8. In Camaro SS trim, it’s good for 455 horsepower and 455 lb-ft of tire-melting torque. Because we’re into saving the manuals around here, we kept the standard six-speed stick. Active rev-matching and a limited-slip differential acting on a 3.73:1 rear axle also are standard. Four-piston Brembo brake calipers peek through 20-inch front and rear wheels.

Four drive modes controlling throttle calibration, damper stiffness, stability control, exhaust sound, and more are standard, but the addition of optional MR (magnetorheological) dampers adds a more meaningful measure of control to the chassis in each mode.

Early Impressions

Burnouts? Check. Powerslides? Check. Ride comfort? Check. Wait—what?

It’s true. The Camaro’s ability to smooth frost heaves and blaze through broken pavement is truly remarkable. U.S. 23 just north of the Ohio border, a section of road that tortured us in our long-term Ford Mustang GT and our (now-departed) Subaru BRZ, was far from punishing in the Camaro. Even Sport mode doesn’t yield a busy ride, while some staffers find Tour mode to be too soft in many situations. The difference between them is easily discernible.

A pony car demands a perfectly matched clutch/shifter combo, and Chevy nailed the balance here. The slick-shifting six-speed is superb in daily use, allowing the driver to swap cogs cleanly and quickly. Even the occasional need to slam home second gear in the middle of a slide is trivial with this transmission. The Tremec TR-6060 gearbox shrugs off machine-gun-quick shifts with its synchros intact.

The coupe’s 4.0-second zero-to-60-mph time is only 0.1 second behind what we measured in the eight-speed-automatic-equipped Camaro SS featured in our latest Mustang-versus-Camaro cage match. Our long-termer’s quarter-mile time matched that car at 12.3 seconds while smoking through the traps at 118 mph, 2 mph faster. More notably, it’s only 0.1 second and 1 mph behind the last Corvette Stingray we tested.

Handling was on par with previous SS trims, too. At 0.98 g on the skidpad, the Camaro’s lateral acceleration approaches the magic 1.00-g milestone and easily tops that of the Mustang GT. It’s also only 0.01 g off the mark set by the BMW M2. And that’s a sentence we were pretty sure we’d never write. Its stop from 70 mph in 150 feet was a full nine feet shorter than the Bavarian coupe despite carrying about 300 more pounds.

Although we’re still in the honeymoon period with this Camaro, it’s worth noting that its fuel economy to date is matching the EPA’s combined figure of 19 mpg. Certainly that’s due in part to easy driving during the initial break-in period, though, so we’ll be keeping an eye on it once our lead feet have had more opportunity to stomp with impunity.

Grumbles about tanklike visibility remain, but Chevy fixed the Camaro’s other major shortcomings, such as the cheap-looking interior materials, with this sixth-generation car. Whether those gripes will remain at bay will be determined over the next 36,000 miles.

Months in Fleet: 2 months Current Mileage: 3799 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 19 mpg Fuel Tank Size: 19.0 gal Fuel Range: 360 miles
Service: $0 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0