2016 CHEVROLET CAMARO SS UPDATE 6: FINISH LINE IN SIGHT

It’s our goal to finish a yearlong loan with 20,000 miles on the odometer. Sometimes a good road trip is just the thing. So at 18,883 miles, I loaned the 2016 Camaro SS to associate road test editor, Erick Ayapana who set out from Los Angeles to attend the Cadillac V-Performance Academy at Spring Mountain in Pahrump, Nevada. After his 600-ish-mile trip, where he thought familiarizing himself with the Camaro’s LT1 engine was the perfect warm-up to the CTS-V’s monster LT4 engine, here’s what else Erick had to say about the car:

“I’m pleasantly surprised at how well the Camaro does as a cruiser. Relatively quiet, the exhaust note is subdued even with the Driver Mode Control set to Track (loudest setting). I really appreciated the ventilated seats in the desert heat. And a heated steering wheel, too? Is this a Chevy or a Caddy? I have some complaints, however. The single biggest annoyance was the glare coming from the head-up display housing, reflecting onto the windshield in my line of vision. The lack of storage is an issue, but I found alternatives: water bottles, for example, fit perfectly between the driver’s seat and the door sill; I wedged my iPhone in between the air vent and console trim piece, and my sunglasses (barely) fit in the door pocket.”

On one fateful tankful, Erick reset the Camaro’s all-time distance record from 379 to 404 miles, unknowingly joining the Zero Club that would’ve shown 0 miles to empty. He added the most fuel ever, as well, with 18.445 gallons, leaving just 0.55 gallons, which would’ve taken him only 12 miles at his current 22 mpg. Despite his iron-butt fuel-sipping efforts and a few 15 mpg tanks since, the average-running consumption has remained at 16 mpg.

Two other things I noticed since the last update: For the twice-annual occasions when I need them, I discovered the Camaro has no dry-cleaning/hanger hooks. Demographics? Also, because I’ve been spending so much time in other cars recently, I really am resenting the T. rex arm-length switches in the Camaro. The window switches and the Driver Mode Control are especially troubling.