Choosing a Camaro over a Corvette?
 

Soooo.... thought I'd ask a question, mostly for the sake of interesting conversation. I hope. -First, a little background. I sold my mint 89 Iroc back in October, and it financially allowed me to get into my low mile '16 2SS. My goal was a "modern" performance car, and frankly, I was looking at Corvettes. I've always owned Camaros, but never a 'Vette. LOVE the C5 Z06, and was seriously looking at the C6 Grand Sports and Z06's. Love the C7, but they were still a bit out of my price range. C5Z is still a bucket list car, but for a guy who loves "old" cars, I really wanted to at least once, have a modern performance car. After a few c6 deals fell through, I figured I'd at least look at the Camaro. Honestly didn't like 'em before last November. Once in the car, the Camaro outclassed the C5 and C6 in every metric I could think of! I was sold, and after 6 months, I still absolutely love my 16 Camaro SS. ...all this has me thinking though, as good as it is, what's the C7 like? I've never driven one honestly. If the perceived value is as good as the Camaro, I'd be willing to pay more than I might have back when I bought the Camaro. I'm considering a...say...16 to 19 Z51 Corvette. This is all Quarantine thinking, and I'm not going to make any move in the near future. Still...as things move back to normal, I may go take a test drive....

....so here's my question. Why do so many people like the Camaro better? Diehards of either model will always choose their favorite, but more so than other years, through the 80's and 90's, I see a LOT of people go with Camaro. Street cred still goes to the 'Vette, and frankly performance has always been pretty close... Is this real or just perception? Forums maybe painting a skewed view of reality? For those of you who have both, or have owned both, I'm curious what your thoughts are. I'm especially wondering about the ZL1. Unless it serves a fair amount of track duty, I can't see spending that kind of money on a Camaro over a Corvette. -That's not intended as a knock, I truly haven't done any comparison, and am just voicing my thoughts. I really don't know. Maybe I should test drive the ZL1 too! Seriously! Hope that doesn't rub anyone the wrong way.

I actually owned a 15 C7 Z51 M7 for about 10 days before a flood came and took it from me.

Initially, I was facing the same dilemma - it was a tough pick between the C7 Z51 and 19 SS 1LE. Both are similarly priced, and I initially picked the C7 because of, ahem, "street cred." Perhaps it's just that I really wanted one for a while.

Obviously, it's a nice car, but now that I have my SS 1LE, I think both are awesome cars, and I may just like the Camaro just a bit more.

The biggest thing Camaro does better is the manual trans. The C7 7-speed is not easy to use, and it's easy to get into the wrong gear. When you shift from 4th to 5th, you can't just push it to the right like you do in most 5 or 6-speed trans, you have to make sure you don't push it too far right or you land in 7th and lug your engine. Skipping gears when downshifting can also get tricky. Camaro's 6-speed is just intuitive, easy to use for anyone familiar with a manual trans. I don't know enough about the auto trans in either cars to comment on the auto trans.

If you use either for daily, the Camaro has more technology like blindspot mirrors(on the 2SS) which isn't an option on the C7 at all. Also, C7 will scrape much more easily than the Camaro.

The SS 1LE feels a little more planted due to the extra weight and wider tires.

As for the looks, I wouldn't say one is better than the other because they have different appeals and I like them both. Camaro has a more aggressive muscle look that will definitely still draw some attetion, while Corvette has a more exotic look to it. Some of my friends actually prefer the Camaro's look.

I would say that C7 definitely has more storage for items in the cabin like deeper door pockets and that little secret space behind the screen, and the trunk is much more usable. Targa top is nice to have as well.

As for performance, I believe an SS 1LE can hang on the track with C7 Z51 on a track with the right driver, while C7 will have a little bit of advantage in a straight line due to the lower weight.

People just assume Corvettes have good performance while the Camaro is a dark horse that will surprise people. Many still have the impression that a Camaro is just a pony that can't turn, so there is more of a surprise factor when you can show that it's got great handling.

I have been LUCKY enough to have owned BOTH!!!!! Go drive a C7 Vette and YOU will see why They are SOOOOOOO COOL!!!! Insurance is higher on the Vette,But, I would LOVE to have another one.:bow:

Different animals, different strengths and weakness, different feels. I daily drive the 2SS, I like the backseat option, the enclosed/separate trunk. It's cost less but it's not cheap. It rides higher and is more visible while having more visibility. I feel safer in the 2SS as a daily driver.



The Z06 and our soon to hopefully arrive C8, god willing, are just true full out 'sports cars'. Pretty much everything about it. And the C8 is on a whole 'nother level.



Different flavors I guess. I'm a muscle car guy at heart and the 2SS is more of a muscle car IMO.

Alpha platform and backseat.

What's important to you?

Modern Camaros are much better handling than early muscle cars. But so are modern Corvettes better handling than early Corvettes. So the muscle car/sports car divide has just moved toward better performance for both.

So now it's more about image, and don't forget the hot weather stench of outgassing in Corvettes, and your wife complaining about the seating position.

The Camaro is at the pinnacle of muscle care evolution, while the modern Corvette is, IMHO, the poor man's European supercar.

I love the classic "Muscle Car" look of the 6th Gen Camaro, a nice tastefully customized 6th Gen looks way "tougher" than a run of the mill Corvette to me...

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/pictu...ctureid=164469

You need to drive both and see which one you prefer. I went shopping for a c7 and came home with a new zl1 instead.

Note hating on the Vette, but these Gen6’s just look like a muscle car and I love muscle cars.
Just way tougher then a Vette, even the new C8

I'm sure you'll get a lot of comments about how the back seats are a joke and unusable, but that (along with price) made me decide. I didn't buy a Camaro because I plan on driving alot with back seat passengers, but in a pinch, at least they're available. The few times I've had to put people back there, it wasn't impossible driving with my seat up to give them legroom, but with a vette, I wouldn't even have that option.

The Camaro trunk is comparable to the RX-8's: they are not too small but the small opening can restrict the type of stuff you can fit in it. C7 also has an accessory that can separate the seats from the cargo. One of the few things I managed to salvage from my flooded C7. After two washes, they are good as new.

But yes, different strokes for different people. I never consider myself a muscle/pony car guy but the Camaro is an amazing car. It's more like a sports car under the guise of a muscle/pony car.

That's about the only way to really see. I would say that when I picked the C7, the dealer allowed a quick test spin while the Camaro dealer didn't do so because it was a little too cold out. But heh, my situation does mean that I technically own(ed) both cars.

I’m facing a similar dilemma.

However I’m strongly leaning on getting a loaded 2ss over a 1lt c8

I have both.

Camaro seems like a luxury car that is kind of fast. C7 is a fast car with some luxury.

Nothing is better to me than the C7 for speed, looks, getting looks, etc., but with the Camaro as a daily driver, I am loving it more every time I think about it or drive it.

I guarantee if you drive a ZL1 you will probably be hooked. I had a 2016 2SS and drove it for 3 years before getting a used 2017 ZL1 and i will say that a ZL1 is a different beast and I have no regrets buying one. Of course the C7 is a Corvette and can’t really compare to a Camaro. I would suggest if you are looking at a C7 to take a test drive and see how it performs to your Camaro but I’m sure you will say afterwards that there’s no real comparison between the two.