It's summer in New England and there's nothing like feeling of the wind in your hair. And the sun burning your face off, getting pelted with bugs and dirt.
I'll admit, I don't really like convertibles that aren't MX-5s, but when I drove the regular Chevy Camaro I was shocked that I didn't completely hate it, so I gave the convertible a go.
On to the age old question: What do you do with a car with horrible visibility? Chop the top off. The biggest problem with the new Camaro coupe is the giant pillar to the driver's left side that creates a monstrous blind spot. As the top comes off this one I was hoping it would alleviate the problem, but no such luck. Visibility is down right awful, but GM has taken steps to keep you from wrecking every 5 feet.
Looks: It is pretty, until you realize half the vents are fake and the entry level car has been made to look fast while actually being quite terrible. It will never win a beauty contest against an original Camaro, at least not with anyone over the age of 25 judging, but it still it looks aggressive and cool, modern yet retro inspired. I have to give GM credit here, it's an eye catcher.
Performance: The moderate performance of the smallest Camaro engine is completely ruined by loosing the top. Wind noise with the top down is intolerable and the wind chill will freeze you solid on a chilly summer morning. While testing with the top down, I was passed by an SRT-8 Dodge Challenger that completely drowned the Camaro, and its wind noise, out.
Features: There's a backup camera built into the rearview mirror, a very cool trick. This is under most circumstances enough to save you from the car's awful rear visibility. The back window is larger than average in a convertible, but still far too small.
The console and radio is nothing special, a very simple two tone black and blue display, but it's easy to use. That said there's more plastic here than anything and it just looks tacky. The radio controls on steering wheel are on the front of the wheel due to the flappy paddles, which I found annoying.
Practicality: It's a convertible. My mother's daily driver is a convertible but she doesn't go much further than work and the mall. I could see the Camaro being tolerable day to day in the summer, but in chilly weather it would be uncomfortable. While driving on an 80 degree day the wind chill made me have to turn the heater all the way up, which brought the car's interior to a boil in traffic. Also with the heat on, there is a air vent right over the foot rest, where the clutch would be. So with the heat on high enough to keep the wind from freezing me solid my boots almost melted, and with the air conditioning on I was thankful for my boots preventing frost bite. But you dont' need your left foot in an automatic, right..?
The top looks like it will sag quickly if not garaged, just based off my view of its construction, so don't even think of parking it outside. Putting the top down is simple, a latch and a button. Getting it back up takes some muscle to lock into place, it's a rudimentary system, and open to close takes about 20 seconds of button pressing. If you release the button the roof will stop mid-conversation. At least it's not completely manual.
Pros: I know I often judge cruise controls, but they're very useful highway features for those of us with a heavy foot, and the Camaro's is one of the best I've tested.
The flappy paddle gear box is actually great, and using it to manage your own revs can either produce good fuel economy or make for some fun off the line. I did purposely try to stall, but the car won't allow it, reading "Shift denied" on the dash screen. Fairly smart, isn't it?
Cons: The engine is revy, and lacks a real muscle car feel. The wind noise is horrible. The little screen inbetween with speedometer and revcounter is redundant. The turn indicator lights are completely blocked by the steering wheel if you happen to be the same height as me. The cup holders are giant and my water bottle kept falling over, once under the break pedal.
The retracted top flaps around at highway speeds and blocks rearview for shorter drivers. The trunk, as you can see, is almost uselessly small.
Overall: So really, if you want the wind involved on your road trip, get a motorcycle. I'm still not a fan of convertibles and the Camaro didn't do anything to change that. If you must have this car, save your pennies and get the ZL1.
2012 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible As tested:
$32,075
323HP / 278 Torques
Full specs at Chevrolet.com
