The Chevy Camaro is a performance bargain, no doubt about it. However, when it comes to vehicle ergonomics, the Bow Tie brand icon may not be the best fit for shorter people.
According to a recent analysis by nonprofit consumer organization Consumer Reports, the Chevy Camaro is actually among the top 10 worst cars for short drivers.
To determine which vehicles were worst-suited for shorter drivers, Consumer Reports analyzed a range of scores from recently tested vehicles, with a focus on things like driving position, seat comfort, ease of ingress and egress, and visibility. Among the Consumer Reports testers, the shortest was 5-foot, 1-inch tall.
The Chevy Camaro was ranked among the ten worst vehicles tested. Other vehicles making the worst list included the Mazda MX-5 Miata, Jeep Wrangler, Toyota Tacoma, Jeep Gladiator, Mitsubishi Mirage, Jeep Renegade, Ford F-150, and Nissan Titan. Two other General Motors products also made the worst list, namely the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon pickup trucks.
According to Consumer Reports, the Chevy Camaro’s “emphasis on interior and exterior styling undermines practicality. It results in severely hampered visibility, difficult to read controls, a small trunk, and a tiny rear seat that is tricky to access.”
Although the Chevy Camaro may not be ideal for shorter drivers, it does have quite a few good things going for it. For starters, it’s cheaper to insure than its rivals. In a recent report, MotorTrend compared the cost of insurance premiums for three of the most popular American muscle cars, including the Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger, and Chevy Camaro. Notably, the Camaro was less expensive to insure than the Challenger in all trim levels analyzed. It was also less expensive than the Ford Mustang in 1LS trim, as compared to EcoBoost trim for the Mustang, and SS trim, as compared to Bullitt trim for the Mustang.
As GM Authority has covered previously, the future of the Chevy Camaro is uncertain, as there is no clear end-date for the current sixth-generation model. That said, the Camaro nameplate may be used in conjunction with a future all-electric sedan model.
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Comments
Maybe it’s a top 10 best for tall drivers
Worst driving ? Claustrophobic is a better term who made up this list is a better question? The Miata, F-150, , Canyon, and Colorado don’t belong no where near this list haha
Nobody said it was the worst driving. They said it was among the worst for short drivers.
They need a booster seat
Sounds like someone is a little jealous. Lmao
The car is beautiful. No other car is as good looking as the Camaro . Corvettes are kinda a cool but after 10 years the look becomes very ugly. The back end of them looks like a bedroom dresser. Hellcats look ordinary like every other car. Camaro wins hands down with looks . People break there necks looking at them go by. Mustang’s are okay but they are small and gear more towards women unless your a teenage kid. Plus Ford couldn’t build a heating and air conditioning unit that last past 50 thousand miles. People are jealous of Camaro owners.
Camaros are not uncommon where I live. An Aston Martin, Lamborghini or C8 will turn more heads.
Ever since Chevy brought it back the exterior styling interferes with interior comfort. I had the occasion to sit in a camaro while my son in law was negotiating his deal on a truck. When I closed the door I though I was in a German pill box bunker looking out through the gun ports. I almost thought I was getting claustrophobic. Between the low seating position and the narrow window height it doesn’t give a very good view. I didn’t sit in it very long, then I started getting out, that is quite an undertaking in it self. It is obvious that is designed not only for the young at heart, but for the young period.
I’m 70 and I fit fine in my Camaro. The idea is to stay in some kind of decent shape.
Thank you, Bob! The only thing you failed to mention was that you cannot comfortably rest your left arm on the door window sill while driving because it is too darn high!
ALL of the “problems” with the Camaro are due to the ridiculously HIGH belt-line. Which brainiac decided that we WANT a high belt-line like that? I am SO glad I took a chance and bought a 2005 Pontiac GTO BEFORE the Camaro returned a couple of years later… had I waited, I would have been SORELY disappointed! (I saw “unofficial sketches” of the planned Camaro styling in the auto magazines back in 2005 and immediately noticed the high belt-line; that’s what prompted me to pull the trigger on the GTO. SO GLAD I did!)
My Camaro is so comfortable all the women i take in it love it, Never any problems seeing. Usually anti mask people are the ones not smart enough to see out of them.
I call bs. I sat in one and the NYIAS a couple years ago and i could see out of it front to back. And this was when I was in middle school and I’m only about 5’7 today (in college). So that should say something.
5’7″ is not short. Just ask me. 😌
I agree with this – I have been in both (and own a Colorado) and I am 5’7″ – it is silly what I have to do to get in my truck when the Nissan and Toyota folks make much less effort to get in and out. I tried to add a grab handle on the driver’s side (they have them on this models in some other countries) but in the good old USA they are not available……
I test drove a GMC Canyon and I don’t know if it was the seat height or what but I had difficulty seeing over the hood. I’m 5’11” and their styling seems designed for straight ahead viewing only. I had a ‘93 GMC dually and could see the road 8’ in front of me, these new trucks I’ll bet you can’t see the road 15’ in front of you. I bought a Nissan Frontier and I can see the road in front of me .
All new vehicles I buy must have six way electric drivers seat. Most of it I need it to be lower for my height. A standard one position slide seats are too high.
Are you seated in the back seat? I have a 2019 Colorado ZR2 Bison am 5’9″ in height and have no issues seeing out the front, left side, right side and back while seated in proper driving position.
You didn’t adjust the seat right, you need to raise the rear so the seat is close to flat. New trucks copied vans and semis with upright seating positions, like an office chair. If you position the seat like a car with your butt much lower than your knees, you won’t see out the front.
Camaro is a sports car. If you are fat or out of shape the Camaro is not for you.
If Consumer Reports can say anything bad about a GM Car, it will.
never believe anything that anti’-AMERICAN fake, phony, fraud rag prints ……….. thgy are members of the radical left, the woke. antifa, blm, climate change, by the way if theres climate change just what the hell can be done about it except adapt, i dont think man can change the weather, disregard cr , its best not to read it
I have a 2019 1SS Camaro convertible. Getting in and out is no different than all passenger cars made in the world. It’s one reason why large SUV and full size truck are outselling everything. I say about 99 percent of all passenger cars is very difficult for tall people. I’m 6’2″ and there is not one car that I can into easily. My daily driver is a Silverado and the wife’s is a Murano, no problems there.
Sedans today lean the A pillar too low for avg height people to get in and out without tilting your head way over.
I own a second gen Colorado and at 5’8’ I don’t have any issues with seating position or sight lines.
I have a 2014 ZL1 convertible. It’s mostly just a sunny day toy car. The seats are the multi position electric ones. I’m 6’7” tall and 270 lbs. The car is very “adjustable” to fit in and drive. I’m also 68 yrs young and love all the power & technology GM put into this car. Getting in & out is much easier with the top down. I don’t drive it much with the top up, but will admit the vision is limited when it is up. Good reason to leave the top down. My wife of 48 years is 5’6” and weighs 110 lbs. she is just fine adjusting the seat up to suit her. I think that’s the reason GM made the seats electric. We also own a 2019 GMC 2500 Duramax Denali. Great truck, which I can get in and out of just fine.
If your short, WALK, this site has more BS on it than anything there is. Someone here is trying to kill the Camaro for no reason except their in bed with GM. Get over it, Mustang isn’t any better , where were they.
Yep; frankly I am disgusted with GM’s marketing and product line anymore. I have always owned GM cars and loved their styling. now they are ruining all of that. You by a truck or SUV (which is a type of truck) or go somewhere else and buy. It really hurts me that I might have to consider a foreign car maker which still builds sedans and many do. I don’t want a truck; I want a nice comfortable yet sporty sedan! GM is narrow-minded trying to drive potential buyers to a narrow product line.
Unfortunately, that’s what you get when you no longer have “car guys” running the company, and the guys with experience have been forced to retire to make room for those with no experience.
I wish GM still offered a real SUV that I could buy! The Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban is just TOO big for me. It’s a shame they didn’t build another TrailBlazer mid-size SUV on the Colorado platform as GM does for other countries. They were worried (for good reason) that such a vehicle would cut DEEP into sales of the pitiful crossovers they are forcing on us, thanks to the Obama-era fuel economy standards. So my 2008 TrailBlazer needs to soldier on presumably “forever”.
As far as cars, I am only interested in a “personal luxury sports coupe”. Remember the Monte Carlo SS, the Grand Prix, the Olds Cutlass Salon? A RWD coupe that sits a little higher than the Camaro, and would offer the same engine choices. (You know; something that could actually compete with the Dodge Challenger!) GM could have EASILY built one on the Camaro platform, but again it would have cut into other sales. So we are left with no RWD passenger choices that fit the bill from GM. What a shame.
I had a 6th gen Camaro before switching to a C6 Vette. While the C6 has better visibility, the Camaro was perfectly usable. The trick is, and I know this is anathema, you have to be aware of other cars around you on the road by paying attention, checking your mirrors, and keeping mental track of where other drivers are. It’s best practice to do this in every car. I sometimes miss the “claustrophobic” cabin of the Camaro because it felt sturdy, planted, and comfortable. Getting in and out of the Camaro was certainly easier than the C6.
What’s funny is keeping track of the other cars around you is what you should do anyways 😆 but people in general suck at driving and are inconsiderate
Correct door mirror adjustment is key. I’m guessing most driver’s don’t. I am amused that anyone would think getting into and out of a low-slung, aerodynamic sports car should be easy. If that is a problem for you, you should just find a vehicle that better suits your priorities. For the rest, a few contortions are worth it to get into – and drive – a Camaro!
GM could “open up” the cabin of the Camaro a bit by offering a beige or tan interior option as they did on the C6. Not sure why they don’t; maybe just no demand for it.
consumer reports should stick with rating toasters, etc. Let Car and Driver and other auto magazines rate automobiles.
I quit CR because of their GM bashing. I wanted a Colorado but bought a Subaru Forester instead based on CR comments. And wouldn’t you know I pick up a Motor Trend and viola, their top rated mid-sized trucks were ……. drum roll pleae …… the Colorado and the Canyon. So I call BS on most everything CR says about cars and trucks.
Motor Trend generally likes Subarus, partially due to the fact that they were based out of downtown Ann Arbor for many years.
The Forester also is the worst car for tall people, especially when it was on the Impreza platform. Compact car with a longitudinal/RWD transmission, what could go wrong?
I absolutely agree. They are soooo biased against US Car makers. A real mouthpiece for foreign car sales. This magazine appeals mostly to people who know nothing about cars and are almost totally dependent on CU and will buy whatever thy say.
CONSUMER REPORTS = LEFT WING TOYOTA LOVING WANKERS.
I’m 5’3 and I had my camaro for 6 years and I’m doing just fine. No issues here, thank you.☺️
I am 5′ 1/2″ tall and have driven my 2010 Camaro since it arrived in October 2009. While backing up is a Zen experience (no backup camera), I’ve never had a problem seeing. I don’t know if the more recent models are different, but I’m thinking the drivers were just whiners. I also drive my husband’s 2007 and 2016 Colorado. No problems.
My wife is 5 ft tall. She has ZERO issues getting in or out or with visibility in our 6th gen zl1. As for back seats, there are at least 50 other cars with the same or worse back seats. The trunk is NOT small. The opening is small but the trunk itsel is a bit bigger than I would like (yes, I think the trunk is too big). Whoever writes these articles needs to stop drinking…
Yeah its correct. I like the shape of Camaro but for a short driver like me its like i am inside a casket lol.
To the author of this article: Please READ the material you reference before you comment on it. In this case, you reference the GM Authority article about insurance costs and you wrote that “Notably, the Camaro was less expensive to insure than the Challenger in all trim levels analyzed.” Nice try, but wrong! Seems you picked that up from the referenced article, but THAT article was wrong on that point as well! In the details, the article itself says: “Next was the Chevy Camaro LT1, Dodge Challenger R/T, and Mustang GT, with the Chevy slotting in mid-pack at $2,091. The Challenger was again the most expensive at $2,091, while the Mustang was the least expensive at $1,951.” It sure looks to me like the Camaro was NOT “less expensive to insure”; it looks like it was exactly the same! This is particularly important because THIS is the very trim level that I’ll bet most of us would choose, because it gives the V8 power we want, but at a much lower price than the “SS vs ScatPack” trim level. (I noticed the error first in the referenced article but didn’t bother commenting… however now when I saw the mistake being made a SECOND time, I couldn’t help but point it out!) Please pay a little more attention before picking up on a sweeping statement like “in all trim levels analyzed”. Thanks!
Hey, I’m a circus midget, and I deeply resemble this article.
This isn’t even news
My salesman at the chevy dealer gave me a ride in his SS convertible. Back from dropping off my rental, I could not wait to get into my plain 1LT manual C7. Claustrophobic and cramped, had to cram a backpack overnite bag sideways into his trunk. He is 5ft 1″ and had to sit on the edge of the seat and lean up to negotiate the parking lot. First and last Camaro experience. Totaly content with my dresser drawer rear end vette. It sucks to be me.
This is an obvious flat out lie. There is enough trunk space to fit two adults (and I’m 5’7″) into the trunk. My wife is 5’1″ and she sits perfectly fine in her seat and can see the front of the car. If you’re going to lie, at least make it a good one.
I didn’t realize you were small enough to fit 2 adults into the trunk. I’d like to see that. I gave my experience and you make it personal. Way to be an ass about it. Enjoy those narrow ass seats and visibility out that window. I’ll be over here crying in my Corvette.
Its a sports car not a SUV you uneducated dummy.
I didn’t get my LT1 for practicality, I got it because it is a blast to drive. The power, ride and handling make for a great time. The test drive made it clear one has to pay attention to the surroundings and be engaged at all times as should be the case for all driving. Life is too short to drive boring cars.
That guy that posted that is far from knowing what a sports car is. Probably a Republican, We know those guy are uneducated.
I (60F) have a 2011 5th gen. Rather than feeling claustra phobic inside I feel safely cocooned. The car is solid and, being 6 feet tall, I CAN comfortably rest my arm on the windowsill. Visibility is a question of mirrors and takes a bit of getting used to. Backing up is absolutely a ‘zen experience’ as previously commented (great description). This car is so damn gorgeous and fun to drive that I plan on doing so even if I have to crawl in and out. Worth it. If you cant love them, leave them for those of us that do.
People that are commenting that the Camaro is this or that didn’t take the time to drive one. I’m 5’5 and yes it took a couple weeks to get use to it. That being said, I wouldn’t want any other car in its class. I love my Camaro!
I own a 2019 2SS. I am just shy of 5’1” and a 68 year old female. I absolutely love my car. I have no problems with visibility or anything else. It’s just my size.
What a joke! I have both a 2011 Camaro and a 2019 Colorado. I’m 5ft 2. The Camaro is a manual transmission, I have NO trouble driving either one. Both are very enjoyable to drive.
This sounds ideal for short people:
“a tiny rear seat.”
I’m 5’4′ and drive a 2nd Generation Miata. You would think such a tiny car would be ideal for us shorter folks, but this validates my feeling that it’s not. The seat is set for the average height of maybe 5’7-5’10, which makes it too low for me. I have to constantly shift my body forward and jack up the backrest to near vertical to see the hood. I would feel stupid sitting on a pillow in such a small car and so don’t do so, but I should. Mazda, how about a lever to raise the seat as well as one to slide it back?