What people are saying about 2016 Chevy Camaro

Chevrolet, on the heels of the redesigned Ford Mustang, is bringing out a reskinned and re-engineered Camaro sports car for 2016, raising the ante in Detroit's pony car battle. Here's a look at what some journalists and analysts have to say about the latest Camaro. 

"The new seating position is excellent, and the new lower dashboard helps with outward forward visibility. But the Camaro still makes you feel like you're sitting in a bunker, looking out of a gun slit. Ride and handling are outstanding, with the suspension able to soak up track imperfections with ease, while not disturbing either the steering or stability. The brakes feel much stronger as well. The 2015 model's brakes felt squishy and overworked after several laps with journalists at the wheel, but the 2016 model exhibited no fade or softness in the pedal."

-- Aaron Bragman, cars.com

"The Camaro rides on a platform that is significantly lighter than the one used before. You immediately feel this in every aspect of the new car's dynamics, whether you're punching the gas on a straightaway, or braking as hard as you can for a 90-degree corner. This is a smoother, more linear-feeling Camaro, one that doesn't have the heft of the previous model -- and is all the better for it."

-- Nick Kurczewski, New York Daily News

"Welcome to Golden Era II of the muscle car where Chevy, Ford, and Dodge are in a dog -- er, pony -- fight for segment supremacy not unlike the Big Three pickup wars. But where Dodge's ferocious, new, 707-horsepower Challenger Hellcat is the undisputed king of brawn, the Camaro and Mustang are exploring new frontiers for muscle car handling. Frontiers like race tracks -- traditionally venues reserved for introducing track-tuned, alphanumeric-badged beasts like a Z28 or GT500, not a base Camaro ... These aren't your grand-dad's '60s Dream Cruisers that sprinted like stallions from a stoplight but wallowed like pigs through the twisties. Handling? That used to be the stuff of small luxury sedans and sports cars. But with its 2015 Mustang, Ford transformed its pony's front and rear suspensions and leap-frogged the Camaro in handling. Aw, Ford, you just went and made Chevy mad. One year later, and Camaro has answered with a steed ... built on a small luxury sedan chassis. The same Alpha platform used by the sensational, best-in-class Cadillac ATS carving knife. By Turn 2 at Belle Isle, I knew the Gen-6 Camaro was a different animal."

-- Henry Payne, The Detroit News

"Leaner, lighter, faster, tighter -- whether or not you can tell from the pictures, the Chevrolet Camaro, Generation 6, lifts everything up a couple more pegs. It’s almost entirely new, and even before Chevy mentions a word about ZL1/Z28/1LE upgrades, the view from Ford HQ has to be formidable."

-- J.P. Vettraino, Autoweek

"One area where the Camaro hasn't been downsized is in stopping power. Four-piston Brembo brakes are available across the lineup, standard on the SS, and 18-inch Goodyear Eagle Sports are the base tires ... It's not short on glitz, either. The Camaro now has ambient lighting that can be linked to drive modes. There’s even a theatrical “car show” mode that cycles randomly through the entire color spectrum when the Camaro is parked."

-- Marty Padgett, Motor Authority

"More than 300 pounds lighter than the 2015 V6 Camaro, and with a new V6 that delivers more horsepower and torque, the 2016 Camaro lapped faster and easier than the car it replaces. It promises to surprise Mustang and Challenger owners when it goes on sale in the fourth quarter, giving Chevy a strong new performance model."

-- Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press

"The four-seat interior retains a dual-binnacle design, although the buttons and assorted brightwork appear more polished than the chintzy controls in the outgoing model. Chevrolet promises better-quality materials throughout; based on the current Camaro, that seems nearly unavoidable. There are two eight-inch color screens: one providing key driving information in the instrument cluster, while the other serves as the interface for the latest MyLink infotainment system. The manual emergency brake is replaced by a more space-efficient electronic parking brake. But the dash vents got pushed way low on the console. An LED ambient light system offers 24 different colors, reminding of personalization that Mustang has offered in recent years."

-- Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports

"It's interesting that GM chose to debut the Camaro on the warped surfaces of the ride-and-handling loop rather than, say, on the nearby Lutzring road course. What they're saying is that thing is going to work in the real world (they hope). I can now attest that no Camaro ever soaked up a mid-corner bump like this one does -- an impression cemented by a back-to-back drive with the 2015 model. The outgoing car didn't feel thoroughly discombobulated, mind you, but the new one was just that much more graceful. (Yes, a Camaro. Graceful.) On the big hits, the 2016's suspension wasn't visiting the limits of its bump stops like the 2015 model did, and diabolical chatter bumps didn't send it skittering toward the shoulder. Also, that exhaust cutout sounds nice. The 3.6-liter V6 tends to be vocal anyway, so you may as well uncork it."

-- Ezra Dyer, Popular Mechanics

"Small, powerful four-cylinders are the future in pony cars and other sporty cars. Ford reintroduced one to its Mustang lineup with the current generation model in 2014, and four-cylinder turbo motors also power sport sedans such as the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. That gives the Camaro team at General Motors the confidence that its new 2.0 liter engine -- a modified version of what goes into a small Cadillac sports sedan -- will be popular ... The new styling features traditional Camaro design language, including the grille and headlight aperture that stretches across the entire width of the car. The smaller car gives the impression of a wider, more athletic stance, enhanced by a long snout, low roofline and short rear deck. The new architecture gave GM engineers the opportunity to address one of the criticisms of the current model -- it is a tad bloated."

-- Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times