2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS Car Review

I first spend a week with the Camaro LT. The V6 powered cony car that felt more akin to the well-behaved Malibu. And now to see if that finality can be over come by a Corvette engine, Rembo breaks and beefier suspension and the answer for the most part is “Yes it can”. If you were expecting to visually see huge differences between the V6 and SS, you’d be wrong. The SS models have a stimulated air intake located in the upper front fascia and the lower air intake is larger but otherwise, you’d have trouble telling this Camaro from the one I drove last week. The interior is nearly identical too, with the only exception is being the SS badge at the bottom of the steering wheel and the SS embroidery in the front head rests.

This here is the top trimmed 2SS and again it came equipped with the six-speed auto, a $1,185.00 option. This choice also necessitates an engine modification and eliminates some performance goodies. You keep the six-speed manual you’ll get the LS3 engine making 426 horsepower and 420-pound feet of torque. The L99 engine under here is a variant of the LS3 for the automatic transmission models and comes with active fuel management. With a lower compression ratio, the horsepower gives to 400 and the torque to 410 at 4300 RPM. You also can't get the launch control in this configuration either. But the auto is geared short for quick take offs and can be shifted with buttons on the back of the steering wheel. It also has performance algorithms which will hold gears while you're getting the SS side ways.

And here’s the kicker, it’s the fastest and most fuel efficient choice. An impressive zero to 60 time of 4.6 seconds is obtained by deactivating the stabila trak and mashing the accelerator. The quarter mile wheezes by in 13.1 seconds at 109 miles per hour. Slightly behind it’s stick shift counterpart. This powertrain brings the grunt and eagerness that felt so uninspired in the V6 Camaro yet I imagined I’d still prefer the manual transmission to the lace A-fair automatic just as I did in the Challenger. Gas mileage is rated at 16 MPG City in 25 highway and it will accept regular unleaded.

The exhaust played the big V8 sounds great at least to those outside because the hushed interior let’s very little in. And the SS bites the corners a little harder and you could push it into those bends with greater confidence thanks to the mighty Brembos. The fully independent sophisticated suspension is something unusual on the pony card but it's the Camaro’s modern pliant ride and composed handling that betters its Dodge competition in performance. But at the same time forgoes the retro feel that the Challenger does so well. Its weight and size still keep it from being a super nimble sports coupe. Indeed, this is a big car with a squished roof and as such the visibility out the front is somewhat limited especially from the passenger seat where there is no height adjustment. A lack of rear headroom should also be noted. The rest of the interior is retro styled, quiet and comfortable but generally unspectacular with lots of black plastic and sun confused themes.

All in all the SS put some significant distance between it self and the V6 model. So there are distinct choices for all types of buyers. Performance lovers only have to look here though. Personally, I prefer the Challenger SRT8 with the stick shift but that car cost quite a bit more. MSRP of the top trim Camaro 2SS is $34,180.00 while this car stickers for $35,760.00. A nice price even if the Camaro SS isn’t quite sure what it wants to be. For Drive Time on Yahoo Autos, I'm Steve Hammes.