The showdown of the muscle cars!
And what a comparison. Everything from handling, to gearbox performance, right down to creature comforts.
And it might surprise you which of the two beasts comes out in front… pardon the pun.
Check out this in-depth review from Car Sales.
After 40 years of Falcon versus Commodore, welcome to the new V8 rear-drive grudge match. Camaro versus Mustang.
Come on Marty, this one writes itself. The Mustang is newer, it’s cheaper, it’s got more gear.
Bruce, the Camaro is more exclusive, it’s got a bigger V8 and it looks the duck’s guts. So what are we going to do?
Well, one of two things, road or track? Well what about both? For once, we agree!
If you’re watching this you’ll know the latest Mustang is the first global factory model. While the Camaro comes to us via HSV, which is converting just 550 examples initially, and that’s why they’re a lot more expensive.
Both are 2018 models but while that means the Mustang GT is upgraded with a 10-speed auto and new driver safety aides, the Camaro misses out on them but matches the Ford for power and beats it for torque.
At $86,000 plus on-road costs, the Camaro is almost 20 grand pricier than the Mustang, but that hasn’t stopped up to 80% of them being pre-sold.
So Marty, one of the big talking points about the Camaro is being the local right-hand drive conversion job, by Holden Special Vehicles. I’ve got to say, I’m pretty impressed.
They’ve done a great job. It’s almost to OE standard, I reckon.
I agree. You’d be hard pressed to pick at it. If anything, the Mustang looks more like a conversion than this because the handbrake and the volume knob are both on the wrong side. Yes, you’re right but I reckon there are a couple giveaways in the Camaro.
Well, I get the armrest while you get the cupholders. You get to put your elbow on the cupholder which is something that they obviously haven’t spent the money on. Not ideal. But something they haven’t been able to change is the dash, which is plastic. They’ve left it all right-handed. It’s plastic. Something Mustang doesn’t have.
No, Mustang has a higher level of presentation than this car. I think the Mustang has an advantage. It’s got a broader width of capability in terms of, with those optional Magnaride dampers, you can go from just toodeling around on them or wind them up into sport plus mode and you’ve got a pretty firm riding car.
This car, is just firm all the time. It’s the biggest difference between them, isn’t it? This is just tied down, old school. It’s not compliant like the Mustang. No, not at all. No, the Mustang has got an advantage there.
It’s the more complete car. I’ve got to say, I love this Chevy small-block, it winds and winds, it just pulls like a train.
Enormous mid-range, sounds okay, only really sounds good up top but the Mustang sounds good everywhere, doesn’t it? It does. And that Mustang, gee, it can even rev so quickly. And the 10-speed auto, it’s almost like a dual-clutch isn’t it, compared to this? It is so quick and it reacts early.
Braking for a corner, you’re lifting the throttle and it reads and it goes bang, bang, two gears. Whereas the 8-speed in the Chevy, it’s slower. Sure, it’s a bit slower. It doesn’t always do what you want it to do. The Mustang is always in the right gear.
People say it hunts, I disagree. It’s busy but of course it’s going to be busy with 10 speeds.
So on the road, these two muscle cars are pretty evenly matched. But the bumpier the surface gets, the greater the Mustang’s advantage. And it’s also more comfortable to live with. But as they say in the classics, when the flag drops, the bull dust stops and the let’s face it, straight line speed is what these pony cars are all about.
Despite the Mustang’s drag strip mode and the Camaro’s willingness to break traction even mid-strip, the Chevy was consistently quicker by about a tenth to a hundredth and more than two tenths over the quarter-mile.
So just as I suspected, the Camaro is quicker.
Yes, you got me but only by a fifteenth, Marty. And I know one thing, I’m going to be more comfortable than you riding home to Melbourne today.
Well you enjoy that Bruce, because when I get home, I’ll be the only bloke in my street with a Camaro. So you take the Camaro, I’ll take the Mustang and we’ll agree to disagree. It’s a deal.
Let’s hit the road!
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