I am seriously considering buying a new Camaro, so I thought I needed a little more than the 5 minute test drive... so I went and rented one, then put a few hundred miles on it. It was an Inferno Orange 2011 Camaro Convertible 1LT automatic.

I captured some of my first impressions, and thought I would share. Disclaimer: I love the car, so I did a lot of nit-picking and was quite critical here... don't misinterpret it as not loving the Camaro!

• Roomy Cockpit = I am 6'4" and I found the overall driver and passenger side very spacious and roomy for a big guy like me, which was very nice.
• Backup Visibility = When backing up, it is difficult to see out the back. It was bad enough that I bet my wife would refuse to drive it. I am looking forward to the rear camera coming in the 2012 model, that should address it.
• Right Rear Blind Spot = While driving, I found there to be a serious blind spot as I looked over my right shoulder to check for cars when changing lanes. I had to 110% rely on my mirrors, which felt unnatural for me. Fortunately the side rear view mirrors are very large and I found them nice.
• Overall Visibility = When I first sat down I instantly took notice of the small windshield and lack of visibility. I've also seen lots of people comment on this... however, after a few hours in the car, I found this not to be an issue. Once I got used to the car, it was fine (except the right rear blind spot mentioned above).
• Tap Shifting = I found the tap shifting very nice, and really liked it. After driving it for a while, I found it had the best of both worlds... an automatic when stuck in gridlock and the performance of a stick. However, I found the placement of the shifters on the wheel oddly placed. They were not very comfortable to reach... I look forward to the redesigned wheel on the 2012.
• Lacked Modern Features = I found it lacked modern features, like GPS. Which I kind of expect out of cars today. The low end 1LT also didn't have bluetooth to integrate with my phone.
• AC Adapter = Because it had no integrated GPS, I had to plug in my Garmin... And I found the AC Adapter was too close to the automatic shifter in the center console. I was constantly hitting the AC adapter with my hand when I went to reach for the automatic shifter.
• Small Trunk = I found the trunk size to be shocking, and actually a joke. It was exactly big enough to fit my overhead roll-on bag and my laptop bag. As a joke with my friends, I would say nothing... then pop the trunk, and they would laugh. For such a physically large car, it is surprising. The reality is that the backseat, is the other half of your trunk. We went golfing, and I found myself having to drop the top, put the clubs in the backseat, then put the top up again.
• Emergency Brake Placement = When on the passenger side, I found the placement of the emergency brake not as well integrated as I would have wished. I found my leg kind of leaned up against it, which got uncomfortable.
• Dropping the Top = I found the speed of motor when dropping the top to be pretty slow. It made it hard for a quick top drop at a red light (I wish it was faster). I also wish there was some notification when the top was all the way down, either sound or visual. I found myself saying "well, I hope it's all the way down". I had read of people complaining of the manual latch system, but personally I found it easy and nice to pull and twist lock down the top.
• Finished Look with Top Down - When the top was down, there was no molding / covering over the top when it was down. It just looked unfinished and the top flapped a little in the wind in the rear view mirror that kept catching my eye. I suspect this was a relic of the low end 1LT or it being a rental? I believe I've seen the molding in the dealership.
• Top Down Experience = Having the top down was amazing... in my opinion it's the only way to get your Camaro. The wind wasn't bad at freeway speeds, and if you put the side windows up it was REALLY nice even at high speeds.
• v6 = I found the 312 HP v6 in the low end 1LT to be quite peppy and responsive, I was pleasantly surprised (I quickly zipped it up to 110 MPH and it was very smooth at that speed)... however, I personally would only ever get the v8.
• Inferno Orange = For some reason I didn't like the Inferno Orange... I've seen it on several other camaro's and thought it looked sharp. But for some reason it didn't work for me on this one, I'm not sure if it was with the black softtop or the lack of stripes... or what. It seems to be one of those colors you need to dress it up to reach it's full potential.
• Dash = I found the passenger side dash to be very basic in the 1LT. It was just a giant slab of plastic, and I had several people who rode in it comment that it felt very cheap looking. I understand that low end models are going to be basic, but I thought it was a little excessively cheap. Again, I would go with the 2SS and this should be improved.
• Lack of Variable Size Cup Holder = I went through the McDonalds drive-through and got myself a large drink... and it didn't fit in the cup holder. While really petty, I found this really annoying!
• Granularity of Analog Speedometer = I found the analog speedometer not to be granular enough, the difference between a speeding ticket was just a tiny little bit. While I appreciate that I can know exactly how fast I'm going that one time I go over 140 MPH... I would rather I can quickly and easily tell the difference between 55 and 65. Because the cop won't be very empathic to me trying to explain I couldn't accurately read my speedometer to know I was going over the speed limit. I found it funny that when I used the cruise control, I got an extremely accurate digital read-out. Not sure what the heads up display gives you in the 2SS (hoping it's a digital number).

 

Nice write-up. I have found myself completly dependant on the digital speedo. I have a 2010 1SS, and guess that the DIC is the same on all of them. The speed is right on the money. I agree that the analog is not very acurate, at least with a glace, heck I figure the needle itself takes up about 5 mph. I also prety much ride with the cruise on all the time if I am concerned about the cops/speed limit. Way too easy to get carried away.

 

Go with the 2SS/RS and you should be very happy.If you plan to do a lot of modifications you may want to skip the RS package. Go for it!