Camaro SS 1LE vs. Mustang GT Performance Pack Drive Review
It Wants to go Fast, Really Fast
This American muscle car turned sportscar shoot-out took place in the winding roads north of Los Angeles, and it was here the Camaro really shined. This is one of the best handling cars under $100,000. For a sneeze over $50K, it’s an amazing bargain. The Mustang is going to have to work hard to impress like this.
GM has continually shown that they know what they’re doing when MagneRide suspension is involved. The suspension setup on the Camaro SS 1LE is perfect. This coming from someone who is very picky about track day performance car suspension tuning. Despite being rather heavy, at around 3,700 pounds, the Camaro doesn’t exhibit much in the way of brake dive or cornering roll. It offers perfect manners in the corners, and will never step out unpredictably.
Combine that surefooted chassis and suspension setup with the massive wheel and tire package, and the result is a car that is always hooked up. Seriously, turn all the stability intervention off, and floor the accelerator in first gear. Despite that massive low end torque, the SS 1LE hooks right up and goes. No fuss, no drama. Credit where it’s due, the massive rubber, sized 285/30R20 front, and 305/30R20 rear works. The Camaro SS 1LE offers a level of handling, agility and poise that would make a Corvette blush.
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All of this results in the Camaro SS 1LE being an absolute weapon on your favorite winding road or race track. Despite the size and weight of the car, cornering speeds are massive, and easy.
Powering the Camaro through the winding roads of Angeles Crest was so deeply satisfying, in fact, that I only stopped after the low fuel light came on. Most satisfying fuel stop ever, the Camaro can take my money.
The Mustang better bring its A-game, because the Camaro isn’t taking any prisoners.
Alright, Mustang GT Performance Pack, You’re Up.
Clutch in, ignition fired, and the Mustang GT roars into life. The 5.0-liter Coyote V8 is appropriately named, because while the Chevy bellows and rasps with it’s extra 20% of displacement, the Ford has an alluringly husky bark and decidedly mechanical tone. Those pipes play a mean note, and makes the Mustang GT Performance Pack the perfectly raucous partner for setting off a neighborhood full of car alarms. Or moonlighting as a necromancer and waking the dead.
I am going to reference the Mustang’s soundtrack, a lot. It’s so good.
However, for now, let’s take a look around the Mustang GT Performance Pack.
Mustang GT Interior Opinions
Some of this is simply going to boil down to personal preference, but I find that the Mustang’s interior has a lot more happening than the Chevy. The layout is more complex (check out the dash), and there are a lot more buttons, switches, and knobs to play with in the Mustang. For me, I prefer the simplified switch gear of the Camaro, which has get in and go simplicity. More isn’t always better.
Additionally, the Mustang showcases why most press test cars are retired around the 10,000 mile mark. With 7,900 miles on the odometer, the leather and several trim pieces are already showing notable signs of wear and tear.
That said, I like the implementation of switches in the center stack. Operating the switches and configuring the digital gauge display is really cool. However, again, it can sometimes result is decision fatigue. Take for example that cool digital gauge cluster. Someone, at some point, set an RPM warning at 4,000 RPM, and no amount of of button pushing could get it to go away. This is rather annoying for an engine that spins to 7,500 RPM.
Ford’s SYNC system, now the SYNC 3, is also a miss for me, especially when compared against the Chevy. While neither system is pretty, the Ford system has certain icons and screens that look positively low rent.
Back seat room is comparable to the Camaro, though, the trunk space is notably larger, with a much bigger opening and more usable storage space.
Continue reading about the Camaro SS 1LE and Mustang GT Performance Pack on the next page.
