19 Stang GT vs 21 Camaro LT1 (from an owner)
 

Being new to the forum. I want to contribute as I know im going to be asking a lot of questions over the next few months. Here are some thoughts on the current gen mustang GT (in my case a 19 base GT) vs the 2021 camaro LT1


Worth noting, I got rid of the mustang after less than a year due to it having major Reliability issues. I am not taking those issues into account for anything below.





Id argue that comparing the LT1 to the mustang GT is a far comparison, as the out the door price is very similar. The SS takes it into a different realm.

The mustang had the upgraded radio and auto climate control, but those were the only options (mainly for android auto)



Interior



Interior Design:
I like the design of the camaro interior better. Its a lot more modern in terms of styling and its just nicer to look at. With that said, chevy materials quality leaves a lot to be desired. The mustangs retro styling has its charm, but the fit and finish wasn't quite as good.



The mustang had better switch gear, hands down. From the toggle switches to the push button start. The tactility of it was better. The start button in the camaro feels like a cheap keyboard button.



Gauges:


Hands down mustang, the retro gauges were big, evoked a muscle car feel, and had cool thematically fitting fonts. I had the analog in the stang not the digital. The camaro dials are "fine" but they don't enhance the theme and experience of the car the way the stang gauges did.





Ergonomics: Stang for the win. If only because i cant use the darn center console without stopping the car.



Climate control :
I give this its own category because i really really like the climate control in the camaro. the vent gauges are an excellent touch as is the way the display works. Hands down camaro.





Visibility:

Mustang No brainer. (one of the reasons i bought the mustang over an ss in 19) I will say the camaro is better than expected and way better than a challenger, though i still need a blindspot mirror for the drivers side.





Seats:

I have the base cloth seats in the camaro, and had the base seats in the stang. I hand the W to the camaro for comfort. Though i do wish the lumbar adjusted.



Shift knob:

MUstang, if only because replacing it was as easy as unscrewing the factory one.





Performance:





Engine:
This one is tricky as it comes down to what you like. The gen 3 coyote is a really cool engine, but you have to rev it to do anything fun. It WANTS to be over 4k if youre driving aggressively. Wind it up and off you go.



The LT1 by contrast has torque EVERYWHERE you can tap the throttle and it just starts rolling, but it doesnt have that sort of frantic feel of the coyote once you start climbing in revs.



If you like boosted power curves of low end grunt and linear power the LT1 is the winner (my preference to be sure)



If you are a fan of NA screamers the coyote is great.

Power delivery is a draw as its preference





However. The coyote has to win points for having the dual injection system. Adding port fuel to the DI system allows for very easy fueling upgrades. A bone stock coyote can take an SC and make 700 wheel And all it takes are some injectors and a pump re-wire to make that 900.



My understanding is that you have to upgrade to the Zl1 fuel system, and potentially upgrade the DI pump lobe on the cam to reach those numbers on the camaro.









Exhaust:
Stock for stock the mustang wins. My specific LT1 without the active exhaust is too quiet. I am already looking to replace the axleback. The stang was loud enough that windows down you heard the exhaust regardless of rpm or gear, but quiet enough that windows up and it mostly dissapeared.











Handling:



Hands down the Camaro. The stang was very soft, and floaty. the Camaro is far more confident. It corners flatter, handles bumps better and still has a compliant ride.









Overall:

I give the W to the camaro because the chasis is better and i prefer the LT1 character to the coyote. Ignoring the reliability concerns (yeah thats a big thing to ignore) the Stang is A surpisingly good vehicle in base GT trim. I will say the engine bay on the camaro is FAR FAR easier to manage than the DOCH coyote. Thats another big w for the camaro.





I have tried to give my honest assessment of both cars strengths and weaknesses. I am not trying to offend, insult or anything.

PRetty much hits my agreement too. The mustangs are nice, the visibility was outstanding (comparatively) the coyotes are great engines, but the Camaro... just hits different.

Had a ‘19 GT. Agree with most except I think the 6.2 revs just as well. The Coyote likes rev but it revs slowish.
The 6.2 in the SS is more satisfying with that torque.

One more thing: Last year drove my sons 1LE Camaro from Tennessee to NorCal. We were easily going 400 miles on a tank of fuel over 2.5 days. We were not even trying to save. GT can't do dat! :)

Just to add two things:

- The Camaro start button is the exact same one out of the C7 Corvette. It's a parts bin car, so no surprise here.

- As for the gauges, I think the Mustang one is better when compared to the Camaro one of the same trim. The full digital one hands down beats the uplevel one in the Camaro, while I think the analogue one looks better than the base one in the Camaro. The analogue Mustang gauge doesn't nearly look as good as the uplevel Camaro one, though. The centre screen is too tiny and the lack of HUD option doesn't help.

The Mustang revs a bit smoother but you do have to drive it differently. I did try driving both my Camaro and my friend's GT PP1 at 2~3k RPM at a mountain road and while the Camaro had adequate power the whole time, my other buddy and I both agreed that I need to shift down a gear in the Mustang to be at 4k RPM to get that same response.

Thanks for the info! :)

I just bought my wife a 2019 Mustang Eco-Boost Convertible Premium (she likes to cruise, doesn't care about racing and what not, hence the eco and not the GT, which saves me money! Haha) so have been able to do a little side by side. The eco-boost is fairly quick for being a turbo 4 (and she also has the 10 speed auto like I do), handles nice, and the premium trim gets the nice leather interior, better seats, and she also has the bigger infotainment screen and the all digital gauges. Unsure what all packages it has, trying to find the window sticker from the dealer or anywhere as we bought it used.

Overall..

- Even with the fancy all digital gauge I prefer my ZL1 gauges... I just prefer an analog speedo and tach.
- I do like the extra customization ability of the Mustang gauges though, can change color of everything, style, etc, which is quite nice.
- I love my HUD, which the Mustang lacks.
- I prefer my infotainment system, but hers is still quite nice, looks good, and is quick, so.. it's not like a bad infotainment system by any means.
- Not a huge fan of the silver flip switch buttons in the Mustang BUT don't think they are bad.. do wish my mode and traction control buttons were something nicer, maybe metal or something, and not cheap plastic buttons lol :D
- Prefer my ZL1 seats a lot more over her premium leather seats but her seats aren't bad and are also heated and vented and a little roomier, lol. Back seats do look a little more spacious but still a tight squeeze for anyone of size.
- Her car has the lane assistance stuff it looked like with the detection system that sees cars in front of you and shows like a range indication on the gauge cluster which seemed cool.. didn't test out what all it does or anything, lol, and I deleted my safety stuff when I opted for the PDR system.
- Visibility is nice in the Mustang (and even better with the top down, lol) but I never had any issues with visibility in my Camaro and love the rear view mirror camera especially compared to the Mustang traditional mirror.
- Mustang trunk opening seems only a little larger and the trunk didn't seem any more spacious. Always heard how tiny the Camaro trunk opening is compared to everything else blah blah blah... The Mustang trunk opening was indeed larger, but it looked like a tiny difference, not the MASSIVE difference I was led to believe by all the posts and articles/videos I've seen.
- Mustang interior overall seemed to have a ton of hard plastic everywhere (not sure if the GT has any interior differences over the Eco Boost premium... I don't think so?), even more than my Camaro. I know we are talking different trims and what not but overall I much prefer my interior and overall look, feel, and cockpit atmosphere... though I'm sure this is preference.
- Not going to compare power or handling/braking/etc as of course my car is the ZL1 and hers is an eco boost lol.

https://i.ibb.co/VBQNVmF/IMG-20210702-203610-979.jpg

Sorry to hijack! :)

Yes, it's worse. You get used to it and you know the "size" of your car and can maneuver through autoX and other stuff just fine after some adaptation. But specifically to the "blind spot", it is critical to adjust side mirrors correctly in a Camaro. If you can see the side of your car in the side mirrors, they are not correct. The lane detection helps on the higher trims, but the primary is adjusting the side mirrors correctly.

Good review. FYI Coupe to coupe the Mustang trunk is 50% larger than the Camaro trunk (9 ft3 vs 13.5 ft3). So, it is substantially larger, as is the opening. I've had both.

A lot of the faults with these cars are forgivable or unforgivable depending on the trim and performance. For example, my first time in a 6th Gen was a 16 1SS. I sat in one at a dealership. And I honestly was disappointed in how cramped it was and how bad the blind spots were. However, as soon as I got a call about the ZL1, all those complaints disappeared into thin air and the 6th Gen was the best thing ever. Same with the GT. I hated the performance of the 15-17 and that dictated my opinion of the S550. Even after test driving an 18 Base GT (lowest trim) I was unimpressed. Once I got into the 18 with extra features, drag mode, and the numerically higher gearing I was soo impressed that I bought it. I would not have been satisfied with the EB.

Same goes with the Challenger. I would not be happy with the SRT8. To me the only Challenger worth buying is the Hellcat and it's variants. But maybe I'm just a snob these days.

I've noticed gen6 reviews that complain about the interior material quality are always 1LE with 1SS trim.

The 1SS has big chunks of plastic for knee bolsters on the console and door panels and all the 2SS upgrades are missing.

Drop down to a non-1LE and the quality drops another level.

I for one would've been willing to pay some extra for better quality interior panels even with my 2SS, exact same design but not brittle hard plastic.

These things make little to no difference after using the car for a while, but it's GM's missed opportunity for creating a better initial impression (and raking in some extra $$$). First impressions can easily make or break a sale.

My 2004 GTO had better interior materials and there were no rattles after 115,000 miles (11.5 years).

Interior rattles mean more to me than soft door panels ...but both would be appreciated. GM knows how to build a car the doesn't have package tray or door rattles. The Holden based GTO proved that to me. No excuse!

My 16 rattled after they replaced the headliner (ruined the car IMO). My 18 had occasional passenger door rattle. Fingers crossed they they improved on the 20

Yea I don't ever hear complaints from the ZL1 owners. If anything, those who had harsh complaints change their tune once they get into a Z. For what you pay the overall quality of the interior and the materials used is a bargain.
Agreed. For the price of a fully loaded 2SS, they should have come with the same quality as the ZL1. I say that factoring in that a base M6 trans ZL1 with no extras costs low $60K vs a fully dressed 2SS being in the high $50K range. The price difference could easily be attributed to the LT4, upgraded trans, etc. Therefore I think GM would have done well to make the 2SS interior the same as the ZL1.

I have a 2SS 1LE. What difference is there compared to a ZL1 interior?

My understanding is that the ZL1 has as silver start button, alcantara on the dash and door panels. Otherwise they are the same. (all my 2SS have had the black suede knee bolsters).

My Hot Wheels had alcantara on the dash and door panels. I prefer the look of the leather.