Playful pony has morphed into a world-class machine in its latest incarnation

It still has the attitude of supersized Hot Wheels car, and you still can’t see out of the back of it. But compared to what came before, the 2016 Camaro is a wholly different beast -- even if it looks, at first glance, like a fifth-gen that’s benefitted from a personal trainer and a style consultant.

Strip away the familiar (if evolved) sheet metal, though, and you’ll find a new platform lurking beneath. Gone is the Holden-developed Zeta, displaced by the Alpha underpinnings it shares with rear-drive Cadillacs. With the new platform comes substantial weight loss (the last 2015 Camaro SS we drove weighed 3,908 lbs; this one is just 3,685) and an interior design and material quality upgrade.

Only the good stuff has been carried over, like the available magnetic ride control (vital on the post-apocalyptic streets of Detroit) and, of course, the stellar 6.2-liter V8, if you opt for it. The new styling is about as much of a departure as the new Mustang’s is from its predecessor, but here, as there, you can tell that it’s been redrawn and reworked after a quick glance. And it looks good -- good enough to draw people to it wherever I parked.

None of this is a revelation, exactly. We knew much of it before the Camaro’s launch last year, and figured the rest out soon after. But this is the first time I’ve actually spent any real time in one of the 2016 models. The verdict? It’s genuinely impressive inside and out.

I’m even willing to overlook the lack of rear visibility.

I say this despite getting the keys in the middle of winter, which is generally a bad time to get to know any rear-wheel drive coupe. Pirelli Sottozero winter tires were a nice gesture, but ice and snow meant I wasn’t going to explore the car’s limits or be a quarter-mile hero this time around.

That forced me to focus on the interior, which was always the one of the weakest parts of the previous Camaro. The plastic-heavy “retro” gauge cluster on the center console is gone, restoring the six-speed gear selector to its rightful place as the center of attention. Nothing comes off of accidental or cheap; the detail stretches from door panel to door panel. The only awkward part is the central touchscreen, which is canted downward at an awkward angle.

Chevy should be commended for not trying to fix the stuff that didn’t need fixing. Once you stop admiring the door panels and push the starter button, the motor sounds predictably great -- a growl building to a roar as the tach climbs, enhanced by the performance exhaust -- and goes even better. Its 455 hp is easy to modulate thanks to a snug, satisfying shifter and a springy, but never aggressive or tiring, clutch pedal.

And regarding the crappy weather conditions: The snow/ice drive mode works wonders. The drop into second gear tends to send the car a little sideways (which, don’t get me wrong, is a lot of fun) but if you want things a little more civilized, change up the mode and focus on obstacle avoidance. The car somehow figures it all out and moves you in whatever direction you’re holding the steering wheel with minimal drama. I’d hesitate to call the Camaro an all-season car, even with proper tires, but you certainly don’t need to stash it in the garage once the snow starts falling.


Read more here: http://myplanet-car.com/autonews.php?sid=203

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