[Autosenses]

Originally Posted by Speedy1975

I see all kinds of comments pointing to cost as a justification point. If people could exercise patience, they could get the car they really want, and if cost were no factor would anyone buy a V6, or worse yet a 4cyl, when a V8 is available?

I see and understand what you're saying. I've been a car enthusiasts basically since high school, 2000-2003 era of old integras, gt mustangs, e46 M3's- i only got to own an integra and couple of built civic type r's and my buddies owned m3's and gt's.

You talk about patience- between college, grad school & getting a masters, getting a job, marriage, kid, life continues to get in the way of something I really wanted and its extremely frustrating for my enthusiasts side. The last time i owned something cool was 2003. Therefore, instead of buying an old Mach GT, old beat e46 m3, or even a used 2012 SS or GT-I rather get the v61le to satisfy my desire.

Why wait...

[COmaro]

Originally Posted by Speedy1975

Good points for someone who drives 20K - 30K miles a year, but wholly smokes man, that's a TON of miles. I'd not own a car like this to wear it out in 3-4 years. I'd be driving a Civic off Craigslist and have the Camaro as a joy ride car.

East of the Mississippi 20-30,000 miles per year may sound like a lot, but in the west it is nothing. I've had several 40K mile years and one where I hit 50K. I know a lot of people who live 50+ miles from work. Things are far, far apart here. I've had vehicles go 300K, 270K, 260K...if you don't get 200K out of a car you are getting ripped off or you aren't maintaining it properly. At 25K miles per year that is eight years - most people don't keep cars that long any way. It is very common for people in the Denver area to go to Moab or Santa Fe for the weekend - 350-400 miles each way. When the speed limits are 75-80MPH on the interstates, it doesn't take that long. I'd rather have a car from Colorado that has 100K highway miles on it than one from Chicago with 30K miles in that stop and go hell.

[danomar]

One consideration that I have yet to see: 100lbs. While the V8 is light motor, the V6 weighs approximately 100lbs less. If you want a balanced vehicle, the V6 is a very good fit between the I4 and V8.

[MyneS]

CreativeDawn...I totally agree and I'm a woman that could have easily afforded the V8 I test drove but for the 2nd time in a row, I chose the V6. I ❤️ Camaro; it really is as simple as that.

[GTIanZ28]

Originally Posted by GTIanZ28

With the sh!tshow that I currently have going on I just checked out the possibility of trading in my car for a 2017.

My $38,000 - 6500 mile car is only worth $22,000. What is that a 40% hit in less than a year?

I'd imagine the V8's would hold their value better.

I keep flip flopping with my opinion.

I absolutely love this car with the V6. Loaded up 2LT is just as nice to be inside of as an Audi. Yet it has the handling and chassis of a real sports car.

The flip flopping is due to the intoxicating torque and the sound of a V8. Even though the exhaust of the V6 is really good it'll never sound like a LT1.

But, as others have mentioned the V6 is an exemplary compromise between cost and performance. It is a great daily driver. Fast enough and fun enough for public roads.

I mentioned elsewhere that this car is actually perfect for public roads. I'm able to full throttle a couple times a day in places and ways that don't have me in danger of grossly exceeding speed limits or risk getting cited for reckless driving.

And, given that I live in the Pacific Northwest a necessity is all-season tires for a daily driver. We simply get too much rain 8-9 months of the year. So, one of the first things I would have had to do with a SS is swap out the expensive summer tires for all seasons.

And almost every year we get a few days of snow/ice that cripple the city. It never stays for more than 3-4 days so most people (and the city) are never well prepared for it. This year we got nailed by a couple of winter storms that resulted in ice covered roads. I managed to nurse my RWD car to and from work through the worst of it. Never would have happened on summer tires - and we don't get enough snow to justify snow tires IMHO.

What I really should have done is waited a year and bought used. If I had been smart about it I could have picked up a significantly discounted Camaro and also bought a beater pickup truck for the same kind of money I spent. I just really wanted out of the GTI that I had "settled" for. A few lessons learned. Next time.......

[Autosenses]

Originally Posted by GTIanZ28

I keep flip flopping with my opinion.

I absolutely love this car with the V6. Loaded up 2LT is just as nice to be inside of as an Audi. Yet it has the handling and chassis of a real sports car.

The flip flopping is due to the intoxicating torque and the sound of a V8. Even though the exhaust of the V6 is really good it'll never sound like a LT1.

But, as others have mentioned the V6 is an exemplary compromise between cost and performance. It is a great daily driver. Fast enough and fun enough for public roads.

I mentioned elsewhere that this car is actually perfect for public roads. I'm able to full throttle a couple times a day in places and ways that don't have me in danger of grossly exceeding speed limits or risk getting cited for reckless driving.

And, given that I live in the Pacific Northwest a necessity is all-season tires for a daily driver. We simply get too much rain 8-9 months of the year. So, one of the first things I would have had to do with a SS is swap out the expensive summer tires for all seasons.

And almost every year we get a few days of snow/ice that cripple the city. It never stays for more than 3-4 days so most people (and the city) are never well prepared for it. This year we got nailed by a couple of winter storms that resulted in ice covered roads. I managed to nurse my RWD car to and from work through the worst of it. Never would have happened on summer tires - and we don't get enough snow to justify snow tires IMHO.

What I really should have done is waited a year and bought used. If I had been smart about it I could have picked up a significantly discounted Camaro and also bought a beater pickup truck for the same kind of money I spent. I just really wanted out of the GTI that I had "settled" for. A few lessons learned. Next time.......

I also settled on an GTI for practically and commuter purposes. The gti is great in every regard but i'm now rushing to pay it off so i can get the 1lev6. I owe 13k on it-i can dump all my cash and pay it off right now..but as i mentioned before, i'm a home owner and spending cash is not such a good idea.

[GTIanZ28]

Originally Posted by GTIanZ28

And almost every year we get a few days of snow/ice that cripple the city. It never stays for more than 3-4 days so most people (and the city) are never well prepared for it. This year we got nailed by a couple of winter storms that resulted in ice covered roads. I managed to nurse my RWD car to and from work through the worst of it. Never would have happened on summer tires - and we don't get enough snow to justify snow tires IMHO.

This is a portlander according to the original poster.

[Speedy1975]

Originally Posted by no1ce

I see and understand what you're saying. I've been a car enthusiasts basically since high school, 2000-2003 era of old integras, gt mustangs, e46 M3's- i only got to own an integra and couple of built civic type r's and my buddies owned m3's and gt's.

You talk about patience- between college, grad school & getting a masters, getting a job, marriage, kid, life continues to get in the way of something I really wanted and its extremely frustrating for my enthusiasts side. The last time i owned something cool was 2003. Therefore, instead of buying an old Mach GT, old beat e46 m3, or even a used 2012 SS or GT-I rather get the v61le to satisfy my desire.

Why wait...

Why settle? I get "life". Been through a lot of it, but one thing I've never done is settle. For those that just want a V6, no problemo maybe there really are some folks out there like that. Nearly all the people I talk to at car shows and other auto events (and I go to A LOT) who have the smaller engines, not one has told me that they really wanted it but settled on it for this reason or that like the ones you mention but mostly wife/kids, so I don't think wanting the smaller engine in a car like this is the "norm" as it were.

I guess I should count my lucky stars. Never wanted kids and was smart enough not to get roped in to that mess. Met my very hot wife and told her on our 3rd date I didn't plan to have kids and if that was a deal breaker I'd fully understand. She shot me a high five across the table and said she was of like mind and the rest is history. My cars are my kids.

Originally Posted by COmaro

East of the Mississippi 20-30,000 miles per year may sound like a lot, but in the west it is nothing. I've had several 40K mile years and one where I hit 50K. I know a lot of people who live 50+ miles from work. Things are far, far apart here. I've had vehicles go 300K, 270K, 260K...if you don't get 200K out of a car you are getting ripped off or you aren't maintaining it properly. At 25K miles per year that is eight years - most people don't keep cars that long any way. It is very common for people in the Denver area to go to Moab or Santa Fe for the weekend - 350-400 miles each way. When the speed limits are 75-80MPH on the interstates, it doesn't take that long. I'd rather have a car from Colorado that has 100K highway miles on it than one from Chicago with 30K miles in that stop and go hell.

Man that's crazy to me. I live in middle TN and even when I had one car I'd drive maybe 12,000 miles a year 15,000 tops. Now none of mine see more than 5 or 6K a year. My 2009 Challenger only has 26,000 miles on it as of last week and my beater 2002 Toyota 4Runner has 115,000 on the clock. I'm OCD and like things to stay like brand new, so glad I don't have to drive that many miles a year. Makes it super easy for me to sell our used cars too. I tend to keep mine a bit longer than most though. Once I find one I like it takes a significant upgrade for me to make a change.

[KMPrenger]

If money is zero factor...(as in, buying a Camaro is like a drop in a bucket) then sure. Why not just get the best there is?

But then there are folks that CAN afford the SS without having to change their lifestyle to do so...but maybe they are more practical. Maybe they enjoy seeing their savings go up and are retirement-minded (even if they are not yet close to retirement) Maybe they don't like seeing the large hit to their account, or maybe they have other hobbies, or maybe they have home upgrades planned, or this or that. Maybe they also realize that they will never come close to using the potential of the SS on the street, so why not just save money and get the V6 which will still be pretty damn fun to drive.

You could say I kind of fall into the above categories in some part or another. Now, I did end up going with the SS this time around (a 1SS....mostly b/c I didn't want to exceed a certain $ figure and I was able to work a 1SS very close to that figure so I went with it lol) Is it totally awesome and does it sound amazing? You bet it does. Do I even come close to using the power on the street? Not really. Unless you count the short bursts of WOT when merging onto an empty lane or something like that...It almost feel like its a waste of power, and frankly...money. That said....it is pretty much my dream car so I am happy about that, and I definitely did not settle.

I don't track my car, but if I did (strip or track) then I'd say hell yes get the V8 and never look back. If you are just street driving, or worse yet...daily driving the V6 is a fantastic choice.

If I had gone with another V6 I'd do exactly what I did to my 5th gen V6 that made it so fun. Make the exhaust the best it can be (for a V6...no that's not a dig at the V6) and do a few mods that wake up the throttle response. My 2010 model had better throttle response than my stock SS does, and I kind of miss that I have to say, although I could easily fix that! Then just make the car look your own and you'll get more attention than all the stock guys out there. Last but not least...enjoy what you have!

[Marty McFlew]

The only problems with the V6 is the sound and lack of torque. Do to lack of torque you can feel the performance decrease when you have a heavy passenger and other additional weight. With the V8 you can't tell the difference unless you are at a track and look at your time slip. The V6 has good HP of 335, it would be baddass if they could bump the torque to over 300+.

[Autosenses]

Originally Posted by Marty McFlew

The only problems with the V6 is the sound and lack of torque. Do to lack of torque you can feel the performance decrease when you have a heavy passenger and other additional weight. With the V8 you can't tell the difference unless you are at a track and look at your time slip. The V6 has good HP of 335, it would be baddass if they could bump the torque to over 300+.

I agree with that! I'm just looking for a "raw" driving experience while weekend hooning, trackdays, and mountain carving. Im hoping v61le delivers that.

[cellsafemode]

the girl in my passenger seat isn't that heavy to make the car noticeably slower. I'm also not heavy either.

the 1le wont do anything for torque or hp. It's the same motor and trans gears. About the only additional torque you may see with a 1le is if you're breaking loose in your non-1le currently since the 1le has the electronic lsd.

[COmaro]

Originally Posted by Speedy1975

My 2009 Challenger only has 26,000 miles on it as of last week and my beater 2002 Toyota 4Runner has 115,000 on the clock. I'm OCD and like things to stay like brand new, so glad I don't have to drive that many miles a year. Makes it super easy for me to sell our used cars too. I tend to keep mine a bit longer than most though. Once I find one I like it takes a significant upgrade for me to make a change.

Denver is the center of the 4Runner universe. A good 3rd gen with only 115K would easily get $10-12K here, assuming it is 4WD. I've had two '97s and a 2000. One '97 went over 300K before being totaled by its new owner within a week of my selling it, one was at 270K when I lost track of it, and my current 2000 is just a baby at 180K. I bought all of them used. Good ones are starting to get scarce. The later ones are just too bloated and not as tough as the 3rd gens. The latest ones are a joke, they are basically a Tahoe now.

We really need a manufacturer to step up and compete with Jeep. GM, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, all have thrown in the towel on offroad capable vehicles, except for the Tacoma, which also has become a fat pig. The 3rd Gen 4Runner has absolutely perfect proportions for going off road, they are tough as nails, and they just work. The FJ was OK, but too goofy and cramped for a lot of people.

[Corner carver]

Originally Posted by Mr. Wyndham

I think you would find the answer is yes.



This V8 chest-banging really needs to stop.

Yes for sure...