Camaro voted without reservation to 10Best list
It might be unfair to refer to the Mercedes-AMG C63 S coupe as a Chevy Camaro, but it is no insult.
Vaunted Mercedes-Benz was building powerful, front-engined, rear-drive coupes long before 1967, when Chevrolet slapped a made- up name on its XP-836 project. Naturally, the cars produced by MercedesBenz had not inspired the Camaro (although the 1969 Camaro’s wheel-arch eyebrows were stolen from the Mercedes 300SL Gullwing, but that’s not important right now). The Mercedes coupes of the time were wafty, elegant things. The Camaro was, of course, a catch-up project aimed squarely at the Ford Mustang.
But a curious thing happened in the late ’90s and early 2000s: Mercedes started producing the CLK430 and CLK55 AMG, chubby little coupes that hewed closely to the, by then, well-established muscle-pony template. The brief goes something like this: overpowered, hooligan-handling, de facto two-seaters. By the time Mercedes began building Camaros in earnest, the actual Camaro was already wearing the mullet like an albatross about its neck. This did not deter the German company, which has been building them ever since. And so now we find ourselves juxtaposing the Chevy Camaro SS 1LE with the twice-as-pricey Mercedes-AMG C63 S coupe. And the Camaro is the better Camaro of the two.
At about $45K, the trackcapable, new-for-2017 1LE version is within reach of most industrious individuals. That gives it a leg, a foot, a boot, and some toenail polish up on the $76-grand-to-start, but $100-thou-as-tested Mercedes. How many times through the 10Best testing weeks did we hear snippets of conversation that were some variation of “... a hundred Gs for a C-class?!” People were saying that the doughnuts we gratefully gobbled each morning of 10Best were laced with a substance that made us all hyper-suggestible to Mr. Alterman’s voice as he daily reminded us of the three pillars of judging 10Best. How well does the car fulfill its mission? How fun is it to drive? And does it represent good value for the money? That last one is a bit of a sticking point here. The lavishly optioned Mercedes would have to perform heretofore unparalleled feats including, but not limited to, filling in a driver’s bald spot to compensate for its $100K price tag.
In the Bizarro World that we
currently find ourselves living in, the track-capable Camaro SS 1LE rides more comfortably than the Mercedes-AMG C63 S.
It cannot do that. What the C63 S can do is whip off 3.8second zero-to-60-mph runs, top out at 180 mph, and pull 0.98 g on the skidpad, all while convincing its driver that he is a master of all he surveys (even if he is still balding). Apart from a few makers of exotica, no other carmaker has been able to engineer such titillating exhaust notes in this new era of turbocharging. The C63 S’s 503-hp twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 is one of the modern car world’s best means of torturing rear tires. And, in this case, it’s bolted into a car that begs its driver to stomp on the right pedal immediately after the apex of a turn to let that engine holler as it kicks the car’s tail out toward the exit. It emboldens its driver. It brings joy.
The almost identically sized Camaro nearly matches the Merc’s accelerative performance. The SS 1LE bawls to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds and through the quarter in 12.4 seconds at 116 mph. It would be slightly quicker if it were equipped with the company’s eight-speed automatic, but the 1LE is available only with a six-speed manual. We aren’t complaining. The Camaro’s big 6.2-liter V-8 is down on horsepower to the boosted Mercedes V-8, but because the Camaro’s 3747-pound curb weight undercuts the C63’s by 355 pounds, the two have nearidentical power-to-weight ratios. And bear in mind that these are effectively the same numbers that a standard Camaro SS can achieve for as little as $38,000.
What the 1LE package brings is fatter tires, bigger front brakes, and a stiffer suspension, all of which help return astounding performances on the skidpad (1.05 g’s) and in the 70-to-zero braking test (141 feet). Neither the standard SS nor the C63 S can touch these numbers.
But surely this is not just about numbers. The Mercedes has to be the better car because it costs so much more, right? Well, not necessarily. Yes, the C63’s interior makes the Camaro’s look like Chevy contracted the fine folks at Playskool to build it. Yes, you can see out of the Mercedes more easily. And no, the Mercedes driver won’t be assumed to be a mouth-breather, as some people will assume of the Camaro driver. The Mercedes driver will be subjected to entirely different insulting stereotypes.
Despite its lower mass, the Camaro’s structure feels stouter than the Mercedes’. And despite the super-low-profile tires, it simply rides more comfortably than the Mercedes, which feels unyielding as it jiggles over pavement chop, never letting you forget that you bought the AMG ticket and now you must take the AMG ride. Like its less-track-focused brethren, the 1LE delivers stunningly sharp and accurate turn-in response and a level of front-end grip that belies its size. And like the other Camaro coupes, its steering is nicely weighted and accurate to a degree that those unfamiliar with the newest Camaro would simply not believe. The 1LE’s electronically controlled differential and traction control mete out torque to the rear wheels in perfectly measured doses. The Mercedes does not have the same level of steering and chassis fidelity.
It’s without reservation that we voted the Camaro back onto the 10Best list for 2017. Or, at least, put the V-6 — and V-8 — powered coupes (and their 1LE versions) on the list. The 2.0liter turbocharged base Camaro, in its first 10Best trial, was not nearly as well received. The chassis is willing, but its turbo four has uneven power delivery and sounds tragic. It doesn’t share in the award. Neither does the convertible Camaro. We tested a V-6 — powered convertible that proved to be the polar opposite of the 2.0liter coupe; a willing powertrain stymied by a soft and floppy chassis.
As for Mercedes, well, it should remember that it took Chevrolet 50 years to start making Camaros that are this good. Also, it can take solace in the fact that a Chevrolet Impala makes a pretty miserable substitute for an S-class.