The Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro are ancient rivals. Sometimes, one was clearly better, but usually, they ran neck-and neck. Today, it’s dead even.
The Mustang has often been lighter, especially in recent years, but the new generation of Camaro uses all of GM’s latest technology, and has trimmed hundreds of pounds off its figure, and now this big muscle car powered by a 6.2 liter V8 weighs under 3700 pounds, 17 pounds less than its arch rival, all while packing 20 more horsepower.
In it’s latest generation, Ford completely redesigned the Mustang’s chassis, added an independent rear suspension, and redesigned the front suspension. The result is a car that handles better both on the road and the track; a globally competitive sports car.
These are two all-American muscle cars, with manual transmissions and a V8. If you’re an enthusiast, this is your litmus test. Camaro vs Mustang. Today we’re going to settle it.
GREG MIGLIORE (VOICEOVER): Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro are ancient rivals. These are two All-American muscle cars with V8 engines and manual transmissions. If you're an enthusiast, this is your litmus test. Camaro, Mustang, today we settle it.
[ENGINE REVVING]
MICHAEL AUSTIN: So this is the Mustang GT with a five liter coyote engine. Woah! So it is definitely more tail happy.
GREG MIGLIORE: We're in the 2016 Chevy Camaro. My favorite feature is the All-American V8. 6.2 liters, 455 horsepower. Listen to that baby roar here on the backstretch of the Horse Thief Mile.
MICHAEL AUSTIN: Greg's going to say something about, like, red meat or classic red-blooded American cars.
GREG MIGLIORE: These are two of America's great muscle cars. They're just so meat-and-potato-y.
MICHAEL AUSTIN: Really, these are also fairly sophisticated sports coupes.
GREG MIGLIORE: I think it's remarkable what Chevy has done to get the Camaro down in weight. A lot of attention was paid to the details, things you don't see. Like the frame, the chassis, the brakes. And if you're an enthusiast, this is why you buy a pony car.
MICHAEL AUSTIN: They've done everything right with the new Mustang. The pedals are lining up really well, the clutch pedal has this really nice short throw, you've got a good light, but a very close gated and short throw shifter.
GREG MIGLIORE: Talking about the power train, I'm a big fan of this new six speed manual. The shifts are smooth, the clutch action is good. It's a little bit easier to find the gear in this car than in the Mustang.
MICHAEL AUSTIN: The mustang is a world class sports car. Which-- spoiler alert-- I'm giving it praise because I'm about to say a bunch of mean things about it. The biggest problem with the Mustang is it's just softer than the Camaro. It rolls more, it has less front end grip. If you get on the gas too soon with the wheel at all turn, it's liable to have the back end step out on you.
GREG MIGLIORE: Camaro is a little bit more buttoned down, I feel like I can set it up better. And it just feels like it's slightly more confident in the athleticism department.
MICHAEL AUSTIN: I like the way the brakes feel in the Mustang better than the Camaro. Just lets you go in a little deeper, because it gives you that really good initial bite.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
GREG MIGLIORE: Yes, this engine. This is the engine. Over the 5.0. I love the 5.0 all day, but you gotta love 455 horsepower. There is no replacement for this placement. I'll take these 6.2 liters any day.
MICHAEL AUSTIN: A lot of times, people mistake heavy steering for steering feel. And that's not always true. But in this case, the Mustang has light steering that doesn't really build up any weight. I'm not getting any noise from the tires, I'm not really getting a lot of feedback through the wheel. It's hard to put this car on the limit. You really have to pick up your cues from something other than the wheel, like, just your inner ear or your hips.
GREG MIGLIORE: Inside of this Camaro-- it's a little hard to see out of. These big pillars, man, feel like from the Roman Colosseum or something. I think Chevy played a little too conservatively with the new generation of the Camaro. It looks a lot like the last generation. And frankly, I think the Mustang is made to do a better job of just looking a little tighter and more like itself.
MICHAEL AUSTIN: There is an argument to be made, this is the best mustang ever. And for the most part that's true. It's got incredible power, amazing comfort, good ergonomics, great performance on the track. It's the best looking of all of the modern Mustangs. This model's loaded, and I think $43,000 you can step up to a GT 350 for not much extra money. I would rather have the shelving. I want something that's a little more brutal.
GREG MIGLIORE: Right now, I'm really psyched about both these cars. Issue with the Camaro is I can't see out of it. It's like a submarine.
MICHAEL AUSTIN: Yeah, the interior on that is bad. I feel really cramped, the inside is kind of tight. Where I really come down is that the Mustang is more comfortable on all fronts. You can see out, of it the interior is roomier, everything about it from a daily driver is like, this is a better car. Let's move on to price.
GREG MIGLIORE: Oh, yeah, they're dead even. I think this is, right now, a good time to buy a car in this segment. Because you can get these iconic American muscle cars for a relatively cheap price, or you can do what we did and spec 'em up all the way north of $40,000.
MICHAEL AUSTIN: Fuel economy almost the same, it's 16/25 in the Camaro, 15/25 in the Mustang. I'm going to I'm going to weasel out, here, and say that it's a draw on looks. I think they're both beautiful. It really just comes down to which one do you like. What do you think?
GREG MIGLIORE: I think you're dead wrong. I think this is a good looking car. I think as an enthusiast, as a connoisseur, you see the difference between this and gen 5, I just don't think they went far enough. I just think they took some more risks with the Mustang.
MICHAEL AUSTIN: It really comes down to power. Camaro has more power, more torque. The Mustang engine I think is smoother, it's more tractable, it--
MICHAEL AUSTIN (VOICEOVER): This went on for what seemed like hours. It's amazing how close these cars are to each other. After two full days at Willow, we both agreed. The Camaro is the better track car, but track performance isn't everything. If it was we'd be testing the ZL1 against the GT350R. At the end of the day, what matters is how the car handles on the circuit and on the road. And what little bit the Mustang lags behind on the track, it made up for it off of it. While the Camaro has gotten much better this generation, it's still not enough to top the original pony car from Dearborn, Michigan. For Autoblog, I'm Mike Austin.
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