Camaro SS Review

Months after our turn in the Camaro RS, comes the long-anticipated week in the Camaro SS.

What's the difference, ask the less than die-hard Camaro fans?

2 cylinders, 120 horsepower and 11 grand.

The SS is this year's bad boy Camaro...a 6.2 liter V8 making 425 horsepower. Not long ago, this was Corvette territory.

Sure, it's fast. Yes, it makes a marvelous noise when you put your foot in it.

Yeah, I would have loved this car in high school. No, there's not much I'd change about it....except maybe the slightly claustrophobic interior.

But would I buy one?

Hmmm.

Even assuming an epic middle-age crisis, I really don't know. The V6 RS, packing 305 horsepower, a price that begins in the $22,000 range and an EPA highway estimate of 29 miles per gallon strikes me as close to having it all.

425 horsepower is better on paper, but where and how do you use those extra horses and not endanger your future as a licensed driver? And the tradeoffs for that power of uncertain usefulness include a sticker that starts at $33,430 and an EPA highway estimate that drops to 24.

In absolute terms, it's a screaming deal....the tester bottom-lined at $35,850...which for this level of performance is amazing...and 24 highway for sheer muscle is a compelling number.

But factor in the uncertain times in which we live and banking the extra 10 grand from the purchase price and the weekly savings in gasoline, not to mention insurance, just seems like the smarter pick if you're shopping Camaros.