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The 2016 Camaro does make sense. From LS to SS, Chevy has vastly improved the performance, interior, and the styling. It's cleaner, crisper, and much more nimble. Sure, it's also undergone a well-publicized haircut. Its new Alpha platform, the same one used for the Cadillac ATS, is stiffer, smaller, and stronger than the outgoing Zeta. Forget the party in the back. This machine is all business. The V-6 LT will likely be the sales workhorse for Camaro. Tucked between the entry-level 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder Camaro LS and 6.2-liter direct-injection V-8-powered Camaro SS, the 1LT and 2LT provide just the right combination of practicality and power at an affordable price starting at $26,000.
The all-new 3.6-liter, direct-injection V-6 creates 335 horsepower and 284 lb-ft of torque, a slight increase in power from the outgoing V-6 that produced 323 horsepower and 278 lb-ft. It includes continuously variable valve timing and, for the first time, active fuel management, which can shut off two cylinders to conserve fuel. Final fuel economy numbers were not available.
Chevy says the LT can go from 0 to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, though Motor Trend testing showed 5.3 seconds. Our quarter-mile time in the LT was also slightly slower than Chevy's official time of 13.5 seconds at 103 mph. We did it in 13.8 seconds at 102.9 mph. In both cases, the times remain quite impressive. I preferred the six-speed manual to the eight-speed automatic in the V-6 Camaro. The manual let me hold gears longer and pull the most torque out of the engine during test drives of both vehicles around Hell, Michigan. The eight-speed automatic tended to upshift too fast for my liking, even when driving in the selectable Sport mode. (The V-6 model does not offer a Track mode.)
The ride was surprisingly quiet and smooth, though you could still blast the active exhaust to create a louder ride. In fact, Camaro engineers had to go back and make the Camaro louder after initial testing. Now noise is piped into the cabin from the engine bay via a mechanical sound enhancer. (The resonators can be adjusted for more or less noise.) The steering is extremely crisp and well-weighted with just a touch of understeer around fast corners. The tail teases you that it might come out, but it never did, even under aggressive cornering and a 52/48 percent front-to-rear weight ratio.
Best of all, the new platform has allowed Chevy engineers to vastly improve the visibility out from the cabin. The view inside is pretty good, too, with a much more refined interior.
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