Motor Trend Says Camaro Is Better than Corvette

The ZL1 1LE not only spanked the Grand Sport around the track, but Motor Trend finds the Camaro to be more enjoyable to drive.

The majority of automakers have a halo car that sits atop their lineup like a highly prized jewel encased in a bulletproof enclosure – to ensure that no other vehicle comes close to challenging it. For a long time, Chevrolet was that way with the Corvette. But those days are long gone. Now, the automaker allows the Corvette and Camaro to go head-to-head, resulting in a bit of a shakeup.

Motor Trendput 12 high-performance cars against one another for its annual Best Driver’s Car of the Year Award and shockingly, the Camaro ZL1 1LE beat the Corvette Grand Sport by a wide margin.

The video above shows Randy Pobst putting the Grand Sport to the test around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Unfortunately, the Corvette is missing a few things its competitors had. Pobst claims that the Corvette has problems putting power down to the ground.

“I went out in the Corvette in full on race mode,” says Pobst. “It had snap oversteer and entry oversteer. I felt like I was wrestling alligators, I just wasn’t happy.” Putting the sports car into “Sport” mode, though, changed the vehicle’s personality and resulted in a more enjoyable experience for Pobst.

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As writer Jonny Lieberman states, the problem can be traced back to GM’s Performance Traction Management System (PTM), which is only available in “Track” mode. While Pobst had more fun with the Corvette in “Sport” mode and all of the systems turned off, regular drivers can’t extract the same level of performance as he can.

Unfortunately, the Corvette’s driving characteristics landed it in seventh place, behind the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, but ahead of the Lexus LC 500. Lieberman reckons that another 100 horsepower would’ve placed the Corvette higher. We think a simple software fix to allow PTM to be used in Sport mode would’ve helped its case too.

With its seventh-place finish, the Grand Sport finished three spots behind the Camaro ZL1 1LE. According to Motor Trend, the ZL1 1LE was more impressive and enjoyable to drive than the Corvette. It was also quicker around the track with a lap time of 1:34.30, while the ‘Vette could only muster 1:35.62.

With its fourth-place finish, the Camaro barely missed out on a podium finish behind the likes of the Ferrari 488 GTB, Porsche 718 Cayman S, and Porsche 911 Turbo S (which came in first, second, and third, respectively). Surprisingly, the Camaro also beat the Mercedes-AMG GT R, Giulia Quadrifoglio, Corvette, Lexus LC 500, and McLaren 570 GT.

That’s impressive for a car that costs under $70,000. The minds behind the Corvette, we assume, won’t be happy with the outcome, which can only mean one thing: a redesign. Check out the video of the Camaro putting down its blistering lap time and let us know if you think it really is better than the Corvette in the comments below.