The press embargo lifted on Friday, releasing a flood of reviews of the long-awaited 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. How’s it doing? Pretty darn good: the Camaro is currently averaging a score of 87 from the country’s car critics, just edging out that other iconic muscle car, the Ford Mustang. Some highs and lows from the new reviews after the jump.
Those hard cases at Jalopnik tagged the Camaro with its lowest score thus far, and seemed to particularly dislike the car’s interior:
That interior is also going to be a bugbear for the Camaro. While the overall shapes are appealing, the materials are mostly cheap plastic, even on the big knobs that you use to adjust the HVAC and stereo (Nav isn’t an option). A huge swath of that cheap plastic runs from the steering wheel all the way to the right door. The standard-on-SS auxiliary gauges, mounted down low in front of the gear lever, are largely worthless on the move due to their positioning, but look really cool, providing a false sense of driver/machine integration that just isn’t born out in the driving experience. Believe it or not, the 2010 Mustang with a few options is actually a nicer place to spend time.
Cars.com, however, liked the interior:
GM has been making strides in interior quality for some time, and the Camaro’s cabin — with nary a parts-bin piece in sight — is a summary result. It looks more retro than the exterior, with a deck-like dash and a separate floor console that recall the ’67-69 Camaro interior. Plastics are hard to the touch, but they don’t look that way, and low-gloss finishes across the doors and dash impart quality. It’s hard to believe this comes from the same company that makes the Chevy Cobalt and Pontiac G6.
(Amusingly, Jalopnik’s Wes Siler and Cars.com’s Kelsey May pretty much go mano-a-mano over the Camaro. Whither body roll? Here’s Siler: “The Camaro does bring one huge improvement over its platform-mate: there’s virtually no body roll under any circumstances.” May, on the other hand, opines that “there’s a bit too much body roll to toss the car from corner to corner…”) [Ed: as one of May's colleagues points out in the comments, Mr. May was dinging the body roll on the V-6 Camaro; he points out that the situation is much improved in the V-8.]
Elsewhere, the tastefully-named Arthur St. Antoine, of MotorTrend, plants the sloppiest wet kiss thus far on the car:
Your patience, boys and girls, has been rewarded. Big-time. In fact, let’s just cut open the award envelope right now. The Oscar for Best Fulfillment of Ponycar Hopes & Dreams goes to…Chevrolet [standing ovation, cheers, applause, whoops and hollering, delirious tears]. “You like me! You like me! You really like me!” Yes, reborn 2010 Camaro, we do. An awful lot.
The more sober-minded Daniel Pund, of Edmunds InsideLine, readies his checkbook:
The 2010 Chevy Camaro SS might be a throwback. It might not be the future of GM or the automotive landscape in general. But this thoroughly updated and relatively efficient Camaro will be in our short-term future. We’re going to buy one just as soon as we can find one with the right specifications at a local dealer.
Car & Driver’s Steve Siler likes the V-8 better than the V-6 (and also dislikes the Camaro’s interior, which may be a default reaction among all Silers). His overall take:
But the Camaro is beguiling. It has a strong design, a strong heritage, and delivers seriously strong acceleration….Could it be better? Absolutely, but at least its deficiencies involve its interior detailing more than its dynamics. Besides, in these tumultuous, unpredictable times, we should celebrate the mere fact that cars like this are here at all. Welcome to the herd, little pony.
And Popular Mechanic’s Larry Webster, while praising the car with a few qualifiers, grew misty with nostalgia:
It’s hard to argue with this car’s performance, style or refinement. Yes, refinement. In fact, the Camaro is almost too polished. It’s abilities and confidence-inspiring nature are impressive, but we finished our time with the car wondering if the transformation from street fighter to gentleman left some of the soul out. Maybe we’re overly nostalgic for older cars that were never this good.
Of course, all these good reviews aside, the Camaro is likely to be one of those rare vehicles that’s essentially critic-proof. In fact, GM has reportedly already pre-sold some 14,000, an amazing number in this current economic climate.
