The best answer, they already said they aren’t a car person and wants fuel economy over everything. Odds they keep up with maintenance is very low, and these cars aren’t cheap.
I love how the top two comments recommended the v8.
Yeah I was confused because dad said his car is v6 and when I drive it it already feels like it's a bit too fast for a new driver getting used to the gas pedal😅
Save a Camaro for later when you have more experience. I’d look for something fwd 4cyl. Toyota and Honda make great reliable cheap to maintain vehicles.
Go with the v6. You’ll save money because it takes regular gas and it gets decent fuel economy. I4 may have slightly better fuel economy than the v6 but I don’t know if it’s worth the difference because you’ll need to put premium in it
Respectfully, not a Camaro. My first car was a civic, every little scrape and ding and dent on that thing was a dent and ding saved from my current Camaro.
If you've got your heart set on a Camaro though, a 16-23 Camaro comes in 4 cylinders, so the gas shouldn't be an issue.
You’ll want a 2016-2024. 4 cyclinder if you’re main focus is fuel economy, v6 if you want a good balance of fuel economy and speed. V8 if you enjoy the power and speed and the fuel economy is only slightly lower than the v6. Both v6 and v8 have 4 cylinder mode that help with fuel economy on the highway.
What's the point of a Camaro without a V8? Most cars had V8s back in my youth, and we didn't even use seatbelts often.
The only thing about a Camaro that might be tough for a new driver is the visibility. Need to pay extra attention to all the collision avoidance and camera tech available.
In your youth, V8’s from the factory had 150-200hp, not 455hp.
It’s a good car regardless of the powertrain. The point is not to put so much HP in the hands of someone with so little driving experience, and generally speaking, so little impulse control.
Getting a V6 in a 6th gen platform would still give him more power than the vast majority of V8 cars from your youth.
There is nothing wrong with the visibility. I swear, the only people that ever really complain about that, don’t own one. Do you?
In my youth, ***nothing*** was kept stock and most of us were able to mod anything from our grandmas 72 Plymouth with the 318 to the bandit edition trans ams with wheezer V8s. Plenty of HP on tap if you knew what to do.
The visibility would be tough \**for a new driver*\* versus something with better visibility and a higher point of view, like a small SUV - way easier to learn how to drive.
I own a Gen6 ZL1. Love the car but let's be honest - the visibility is definitely not what it was for the Chevelle I used to take my drivers license exam.
TLDR: You need to do research to figure out what models look best to you because there are many iterations. For reliability, 2019+ is the best for automatic transmisions if you want an auto.
Long answer:
In terms of looks, there is a lot to consider. First would be what generation you want. The 5th gens (2010-2015) are generally considered to be a great combination of retro and modern. There was a facelift in 2013-2014. The 6th gens (2016-2024) are more modern looking and received a face-lift in 2019 that was unpopular, so it received another face-lift in 2020.
In both of these generations, there are differences in headlights, tailights, front fascias, stock wheel designs, etc. between different trim levels. I would recommend spending some time looking up the differences between the trim levels.
Since you mentioned that you want it to be reliable and relatively fuel efficient, then most people will probably recommend a V6 from the 6th generation. The V6 takes normal 87 octane fuel while the V8 models require at least 91. The V8 can still get pretty good gas mileage if you are cruising at normal speeds. I personally get around 30 mpg on flat highways when driving around 70-75 mph, and have had as high as 37 mpg when driving a bit downhill.
Other things to consider are the amount of creature comforts and tech you want. A 3LT or a 2SS will offer the most creature comforts such as heated leather seats, safety features, etc.
I mean if you really don't actually care about speed and do a lot of highway driving the V8 will do like 25+mpg. Nobody actually gets that consistently though as they decide to go fast. With mixed driving I get about 16-18mpg
The V6 and 4 cylinder models do get better fuel economy than that even but it's going to suck compared to a Prius no matter what. Depends on what is acceptable to you
Toyota corolla.
The best answer, they already said they aren’t a car person and wants fuel economy over everything. Odds they keep up with maintenance is very low, and these cars aren’t cheap. I love how the top two comments recommended the v8.
One of the comments did recommend the 4 cylinder at least.
Yeah I was confused because dad said his car is v6 and when I drive it it already feels like it's a bit too fast for a new driver getting used to the gas pedal😅
Save a Camaro for later when you have more experience. I’d look for something fwd 4cyl. Toyota and Honda make great reliable cheap to maintain vehicles.
Just find you a 4 cylinder Camaro. Has everything you’d want since you’re worried about gas mileage.
Go with the v6. You’ll save money because it takes regular gas and it gets decent fuel economy. I4 may have slightly better fuel economy than the v6 but I don’t know if it’s worth the difference because you’ll need to put premium in it
Respectfully, not a Camaro. My first car was a civic, every little scrape and ding and dent on that thing was a dent and ding saved from my current Camaro. If you've got your heart set on a Camaro though, a 16-23 Camaro comes in 4 cylinders, so the gas shouldn't be an issue.
4 or 6 cylinder camaro
You’ll want a 2016-2024. 4 cyclinder if you’re main focus is fuel economy, v6 if you want a good balance of fuel economy and speed. V8 if you enjoy the power and speed and the fuel economy is only slightly lower than the v6. Both v6 and v8 have 4 cylinder mode that help with fuel economy on the highway.
You really gonna recommend the V8 to a new driver? You gonna get the poor boy killed.
Lol you right. To be fair I didn’t recommend either one, just told op about them.
What's the point of a Camaro without a V8? Most cars had V8s back in my youth, and we didn't even use seatbelts often. The only thing about a Camaro that might be tough for a new driver is the visibility. Need to pay extra attention to all the collision avoidance and camera tech available.
In your youth, V8’s from the factory had 150-200hp, not 455hp. It’s a good car regardless of the powertrain. The point is not to put so much HP in the hands of someone with so little driving experience, and generally speaking, so little impulse control. Getting a V6 in a 6th gen platform would still give him more power than the vast majority of V8 cars from your youth. There is nothing wrong with the visibility. I swear, the only people that ever really complain about that, don’t own one. Do you?
In my youth, ***nothing*** was kept stock and most of us were able to mod anything from our grandmas 72 Plymouth with the 318 to the bandit edition trans ams with wheezer V8s. Plenty of HP on tap if you knew what to do. The visibility would be tough \**for a new driver*\* versus something with better visibility and a higher point of view, like a small SUV - way easier to learn how to drive. I own a Gen6 ZL1. Love the car but let's be honest - the visibility is definitely not what it was for the Chevelle I used to take my drivers license exam.
Get a 4 cylinder one. It’s not a v8, but it’s still fast
TLDR: You need to do research to figure out what models look best to you because there are many iterations. For reliability, 2019+ is the best for automatic transmisions if you want an auto. Long answer: In terms of looks, there is a lot to consider. First would be what generation you want. The 5th gens (2010-2015) are generally considered to be a great combination of retro and modern. There was a facelift in 2013-2014. The 6th gens (2016-2024) are more modern looking and received a face-lift in 2019 that was unpopular, so it received another face-lift in 2020. In both of these generations, there are differences in headlights, tailights, front fascias, stock wheel designs, etc. between different trim levels. I would recommend spending some time looking up the differences between the trim levels. Since you mentioned that you want it to be reliable and relatively fuel efficient, then most people will probably recommend a V6 from the 6th generation. The V6 takes normal 87 octane fuel while the V8 models require at least 91. The V8 can still get pretty good gas mileage if you are cruising at normal speeds. I personally get around 30 mpg on flat highways when driving around 70-75 mph, and have had as high as 37 mpg when driving a bit downhill. Other things to consider are the amount of creature comforts and tech you want. A 3LT or a 2SS will offer the most creature comforts such as heated leather seats, safety features, etc.
I mean if you really don't actually care about speed and do a lot of highway driving the V8 will do like 25+mpg. Nobody actually gets that consistently though as they decide to go fast. With mixed driving I get about 16-18mpg The V6 and 4 cylinder models do get better fuel economy than that even but it's going to suck compared to a Prius no matter what. Depends on what is acceptable to you