Test drive Chevrolet Camaro 1997 - 2002 compartment
American cinema
A luxurious sports compartment with an aggressive external design and a comfortable 2+2 interior will provide maximum pleasure when driving - such a phrase begins an advertising booklet Chevrolet Camaro 2000 of the model year. Let's check how true this is.The Chevrolet Camaro resembles a destroyer rather than a small and brisk torpedo boat, with which it would be more logical to compare a sports car - but only European. The homeland of Camaro is America, a country of great opportunities and large cars. And it doesn’t matter that they assemble this car in Canada. The main thing is that he is saturated with the spirit of freedom from the bumper to which the Yankees are so proud of. Chevrolet Camaro is an absolute American.
Its sizes are really amazing. Is it a joke, a sports compartment with dimensions with the BMW 7th series. One hood is worth it - two meters, no less. Having recovered somewhat, we decide to open it. The castle clicked and ... another shock. There is no motor here. More precisely, almost no. Almost all of it fled under the torpedo, flaunting only two cylinders and pulleys. The rest of the space under the hood is given to the air conditioner, hydraulic power, the radiator and air.
Perhaps if a 5.7-liter V8 was installed here, there would be no place under the hood, however, in our, European, configuration on Camaro, a 193-horsepower V-shaped six with a working volume of 3.8 liters is spelled out. The engine is located within the wheelbase, only a little protrudes behind the front axle. Successful weightlifting undoubtedly improved the controllability of the car.
Judging by the huge glass of the third door, the trunk should be bottomless. But here is a surprise: its volume is only 215 liters (for comparison: Oka has 210). If you want to remove the roof, then there will be absolutely nowhere to put things: two removable panels are laid and fixed exactly in the place that we took for the trunk. To accommodate the luggles, the rear seats or their back remain, folding which you can get a fairly even site, say, for the suitcase.
In the cabin, only two are comfortable. Even if you refuse cargo, your friends are unlikely to sit in the rear seats for more than half an hour: the existence in the embryo pose does not give anyone pleasure. They will like these places only to the kids no older than twelve. And it is not very convenient to make your way there: the backs of the front seats are leaning back, in addition, seat belts are fixed on them - they hang like vines, interfere with passing.
The salon does not shine with design refinements, but pleasant to the look. The parking brake is manual. The stove control algorithm is simple and understandable. It is somewhat oversaturated with the radio buttons, but with it after a couple of minutes you find a common language. The main thing is not to turn it on to the full power when the top is closed - drum membranes can burst.
On the instrument panel, the oil pressure sensor and the voltmeter are completely not read - the steering pillow covers them completely at any position of the steering column. But the speedometer and tachometer - like in the palm of your hand. By the way, the speedometer is digitized not in miles, as is customary among the Americans, but in km/h.
The front seats are very convenient. Moderately tough, they have a good shape and a lateral support developing by the will of the driver. It is worth touching the servo -drive key, the back literally begins to squeeze you in the arms. The passenger chair has the same adjustments.
Most of all Camaro struck us in motion. First of all, the dynamics: 8.3 seconds are required to achieve 100 km/h. And this is with an automatic gearbox and a total mass of 1800 kg! The sensations are amazing. But they can be strengthened. It is enough to turn off the traction control system, and everything will be like in an American film: the smoke from under the wheels, black marks on the asphalt and a stranding with a stern, a car taken into the distance.
Only after the roof is removed, it becomes clear why there is such a powerful radio. The wind bursts into the salon with such a noise that you even stop hearing the motor. It only remains that the music is full, and the gas pedal is on the floor. However, the volume can not be added. The radio does this itself - with an increase in speed and extraneous noise.
So, nothing prevents you from enjoying the car control. And he goes like clockwork. It steer perfectly, the suspension works the profile of the road with a bang. But only on an even coating. Camaro does not tolerate potholes. They are especially terrible for him in a turn. It is worth getting into the hole, as the car immediately begins to rearrange. The situation, of course, is not critical, but to restore the straightness of movement, it becomes necessary to adjust the steering wheel and the gas pedal.
Honestly, such a work of the suspension did not bring joy. Apparently, the problem is that the suspension is too tough. And tough is not in sporting, but in a group: it shakes on irregularities, as if you were going on a UAZ.
However, it is worth looking under the car, everything becomes clear. The rear bridge here is hard, therefore, the suspension is dependent. Let's take into account the rear wheels. Hence this instability in corners. But we will make a reservation again: only on an uneven road.
Nevertheless, you can ride on the off-road on Camaro, first of all, thanks to the rear self-locking differential, as well as a wide 16-inch wheels, allowing you to without fear of moving away from asphalt. We tried to grab on the sandy beach, the car was quite brisk and quite confident.
The main thing is not to slow down after the gravity. The front and rear disc ventilated brakes so effectively freeze the car that it simply buries into the sand. It is at such moments that a self -locking differential comes to the rescue. As soon as one of the leading wheels begins to slip, the second comes into business, and then the sand and gravel are flying from under the wheels of fifty meters, and Camaro is slowly crawling out of the captivity. Here, the cross -country ability of the car depends not so much on tires as on the power of the engine and its torque of 305 nm. In general, if in the next American action movie you will see how Chevrolet Camaro, wrapping in the stern, rushes off -road, be sure: this is not an illusion.
So can Chevrolet Camaro be considered an appropriate advertising description? Perhaps yes. In any case, the sensations of driving on it are quite pleasant and unable. It is only a pity that soon the model will be discouraged: the car is produced by a plant that they are going to close next year. So, if you have not yet joined the legend of the American auto industry, hurry up to do it. Moreover, the price for the legend is not so high - 45 thousand dollars.
+ Great dynamics, impeccable automatic operation, large clearance, high torque.
- Small trunk, uncomfortable rear seats, low assembly quality.
Technical characteristics of Chevrolet Camaro
Body - 3 -door, carrier
Number of places, people. - 2+2
Equipped mass, kg - 1500
Complete mass, kg - 1880
Dimensions (length/width/height), mm - 4915/1880/1300
Base, mm - 2570
Maximum speed, km/h - 201
Acceleration time to 100 km/h, s - 8.5
Control consumption of fuel, l/100 km (mixed cycle) - 16.5
Engine:
- Type- V-shaped, 6-cylinder.
- working volume, cm3 - 3791
- Power, L.S. at MIN -1 - 203/5200
- torque, NM at min -1 - 305/4000
- power supply - injection
Transmission - automatic., 4 -speed
Tire size - 235/55R16
Wheel suspension:
- Front - independent
- rear - dependent
Brakes - disk., Ventilated
Steering - with a hydraulic wrap
Price, $ - 44 900
Text: Oleg Kalaushin
Source: Magazine 5 wheel
