My Review of a 2018 Camaro SS vs a 2018 Mustang GT
 

I recently rented both a 2018 Camaro 1SS with the A8 and a 2018 Base? Mustang GT with a six speed manual. A manual transmission mustang was the only thing they had at the time so I had to settle for that instead of an auto. I rented both cars at Budget Car rental and the rate for the Mustang was $32/Day and it was $60/day for the Camaro. Here are my thoughts on both cars.

Exterior:

Looks are subjective so it's hard to compare the two. I like the Camaro front end better than the Mustang front end but like the Mustang's side profile better than the side profile of the Camaro. They're pretty even in my opinion as neither are awesome looking cars but aren't too hard on the eyes neither.
Winner: Tie

Interior:

Both cars have their strengths and weaknesses regarding the interior. Obviously, I liked the standard touchscreen of the Camaro over the diminutive screen on the Mustang. I also thought the interior was a little nicer in the Camaro and liked the gauge cluster better. The cloth seats in the Camaro were also much softer than the cloth seats in the Mustang. All in all, I thought the camaro interior felt better and was nicer, but obviously that isn't based on any objective measurement and is purely subjective.
Winner: Camaro

Visibility:

Mustang wins this hands down. Not even a contest. I got used to driving the Camaro pretty quickly and was comfortable but definitely needs some improvement.
Winner: Mustang


Acceleration Performance:

Both cars have decent acceleration but neither wowed me or made me smile. Another 200 hp would probably do the trick though. To test them a little I did lots of 0-60 mph runs. Of course the timers aren't perfectly accurate and the runs were a week apart but I got a sense of what I could do with them.

I got a best 0-60 time of 4.1 seconds in the Camaro (Very steep downhill grade so it probably doesn't count) and an average time of about 4.4-4.5 seconds with multiple 4.3 second runs.

My best run in the Mustang was 4.9 Seconds with an average of 5.0 seconds as I got 5.0 seconds basically every time.

The Camaro was an automatic and the Mustang a manual so it's hard to compare them accurately as there was probably a lot of user error on my part. It was hard to launch the Mustang as it would light up the tires with T/C off or bog horribly with T/C on. I'm sure it's mainly due to my lack of expertise on launching a car but it definitely felt like it would bog with T/C on. I could definitely feel the extra torque in the Camaro though so it would be interesting to see if the A10 in the Mustang would have completely closed the gap.
Winner: Hard to Tell But liked the Torque of the LT1

Handling and Steering Feel:

Here is where the Camaro outshines the Mustang. I don't believe the Camaro had Mag Ride but even without it handling was one of the Camaro's biggest strengths. I was super confident in the car even at 100+mph with a 25mph crosswind. It just felt planted and the steering feel in Track was great. I just loved the Firmness in Track mode. When I took the car back my Focus ST's steering felt just so soft and horrible.

As for the Mustang it felt kind of bad in the handling department. I put the steering in sport mode and it didn't even feel as tight as my Focus ST. It just felt really loose. The handling wasn't confidence inspiring either. I was scared to drive the car very fast as it was very floaty and out of control on the imperfect back country roads I was driving on. I even tried to do a quarter mile run but had to hit the breaks early as it felt very unstable. I'm sure the Mustang would have felt better on a smooth interstate highway but both cars were driven on country roads so I think it's a fair comparison. To sum it up, I let my mom drive the Camaro and she hit 90mph in it and loved the steering feel. When I took her for a ride in the Mustang her first thoughts were that it was all over the road.


My opinion is that the Camaro is the winner primarily based off it's handling characteristics. Obviously a Performance Pack Mustang with Mag ride will be better than the Base car I drove so it's hard to tell if the poor handling of the base car is still an issue with the Performance Pack cars. Both cars have their pros and Cons but I don't think I'll be buying either in the near future as neither excited me. I think a ZL1 might do the trick but that's well out of my price range.

Nice write-up and thanks for posting this. I agree with how well planted the Camaros are, even the 5th gen. My G8 GT and 04 GTO were both scary and got out of control easily for example.

I find that interesting that you mentioned your GTO as being Scary. I had both an 04 and 05 GTO and thought that my 05 GTO felt pretty planted. I had it up to very high speeds one day and it felt great. By contrast, I had an 03 Cobra that was very scary, but that may be due to it having an SRA swap. My Focus ST also feels scary with the Torque steer issues. It seems like GM cars generally handle better than Ford Vehicles or that's been my experience anyways.

Mustangs are loose just like the women who drive them :)

Sorry I couldn't resist that one.

Nice write up though. Seems unbiased and neutral. Now only if you could have had your hands on an A10 instead. That would be very interesting.

Nice review.. Thank you for taking the time. As someone, currently a Mustang 03 GT Vert driver, looking for the last midlife crisis car, I am vacillating between the two along with a Boxster and way outside a GTI thrown in... I have test drove a base GT and a base SS Camaro at the dealer, with the salesperson sweating next to me. Both were sticks and I totally suck at driving a stick henceforth the sweat from the salesman... Anyway, I felt power was amazing in both cars but the Camaro was smoother and more torquey at the low end and in normal traffic. The Mustang seemed to wake up at higher speeds.
I'm a corner carver but the test drives didn't allow me that so subjectively IMHO the Camaro chassis even in the base SS won by a large margin. The Mustang felt overly tight and jittery to me.
One place the Mustang won was interior. I just feel it's better in terms of fit and function.
Audio system in the Mustang was really good, it was the best one. Camaro was the mid model I think so an unfair comparison.
Visibility?
I'm 6'1" 240 lbs... Camaro... Where are my fenders? lol !
Awful.
Mustang, very good visibility.
Looks?
A toss up IMHO.
Don't like the huge grill in Camaro and hate the "Ford Fusion" look in the Mustang.
Both need help but I think with a little extra aftermarket stuff the Camaro has a slight bit more potential.
No winner here.

So overall, I would give the Camaro the edge.

Now on to the Boxster, already drove the new 4 cylinder rice fart can version. Don't ask. And maybe the GTI.. Nice car but I'm all about American V8 muscle.. Born and bred that way, but who knows. I did own the first 1983/1984 GTI brand new.. Great little pocket rocket at the time.

Thanks again for posting.

P.S. One thing that is really scaring me is the systemic problems that both the Mustang and Camaro seem to suffer from. Also lack of dealer support and worse yet is the long wait for parts. That is scaring me a bit. FWIW I've been wrenching for 30+ years. My cars only see the dealer, or anyone else when it's warranty. I loath anyone other than me working on my cars.

FYI, every SS comes with the different drive modes (Track, Sport, Tour, Snow/Ice) which change throttle input, shift behavior, steering feel (and if equipped) exhaust, and suspension.

Its more probable your 1SS does not have mag ride.

Nice write up.

If I was going to get a car with the intent to leave it alone and not mod it at all besides maybe small bolt-ons then I would get the SS. If my goal was boost and headers and suspension work etc then I'd get the Mustang.

Even equipped with Mag Ride and PP1, the 18 Mustang gt handles horribly. It is soft and lacks confidence in corners or high speed.

ha ha i knew it would..hilarious they still cant make em drive good..

do they still have that hood flutter..above 90 mph the hood looks like it's gonna go skywards..
then u have to try and keep the thing straight above 90 mph

s550 is ok up to 90 mph then it becomes a death trap.

I don't remember if the hood fluttered or not. I do agree that the Mustang feels dangerous at high speeds which is perplexing since the GT350 is such a great handling car. You'd think they could have taken what they learned or did from that car and applied it to the Mustang, especially now that the price is up there closer to the Camaro.

please let me know where I can rent a '18 mustang gt manual for $32/day!!!

That's a good price on a GT rental. I have one reserved for next week at budget (most likely auto unless they offer a 6sp) as well unless they give me a Camaro like last time they were out, was about $179 for 7days plus all the BS airport taxes. Pre-pay always saves a good chunk....

My bro has a turbo kit on a Boxster 6 banger and that car is a terror. Even with supercharger I don't know if I can take him with street tires....

I can't wait to try the A10. That said it took me 200 to 400 launches to get my M6 sub 4.0, don't know how many bolt ons but probably before E85 conversion. I have a super light M6, 170 lbs driver, 1/4 tank of gas and 26 PSI in the rear, rear springs lowering springs. I would think the Mustang is a tad harder to launch, less torque.