2019 Chevrolet Camaro Turbo 1LE First Drive: Hot Hatch Hunter
Chevrolet does not have a hot hatchback, and at the moment, that isn't likely to change. Sure, the Cruze Diesel Hatch is a lot of fun, but it won't be challenging the Volkswagen GTI, let alone monsters like the Honda Civic Type R or Ford Focus RS, for any titles.
And Now For Some V8 Camaros
Consider the 2019 Chevrolet Camaro Turbo 1LE an answer (or non sequitur) to these speedy five-doors. Taking the popular four-cylinder Camaro – it accounts for about a third of the car's sales – and marrying it with the V6 1LE's suspension, brakes, tires, and style opens this muscle car up to a new crop of consumers. Whether they'll respond to an interesting take on affordable performance that suffers from the Camaro's well-documented ills remains to be seen.
We're really not joking about this being a four-cylinder copy of the V6 1LE. It features the same suspension, four-piston Brembo-branded front brakes, Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar rubber, and Track drive mode. There's a black hood – a proud tribute to the black-roofed racers that inspired the first 1LEs – and an Alcantara-wrapped flat-bottom steering wheel, as well as black wheels and badges. Park the V6 and Turbo 1LE side by side, and it's impossible to tell them apart.
Park the V6 and Turbo 1LE side by side, and it's impossible to tell them apart.
The differences from behind the wheel aren't all that diss...
