Used 2023 Chevrolet Camaro

The 2023 Chevrolet Camaro sticks to its roots as a traditional muscle car, but it’s packed with plenty of modern features. Its well-tuned chassis and an impressive roster of engine options make the Camaro a blast to drive at any speed.

The Camaro competes with the Ford Mustang and the bigger Dodge Challenger. The Mustang is a more direct competitor because of its similar sizing, pricing, and engine offerings. The Challenger is bigger, roomier, and has no convertible option.

Chevrolet didn’t make any significant changes to the Camaro for the 2023 model year aside from some new paint and wheel options. The Camaro, as we know it, will live its last year in 2024. However, it looks like Chevy will keep it alive in some form in 2025 and beyond. GM has been getting serious about electrification, so we are nearing the end of an era for the gasoline-powered Camaro.

The driving experience is one of the biggest highlights of the Chevrolet Camaro. The Camaro uses an excellent chassis that’s not too big, not too small, and agile enough to enjoy on a track or a winding canyon road. Compared to the Mustang and the much heavier Challenger, the Camaro is relatively light on its feet.

The way the Camaro drives can change quite a bit depending on how you configure it. The base turbocharged inline-4 engine strikes a nice balance of fun and efficiency while keeping the curb weight pretty low. An available V6 is a happy medium between the turbo-4 and the 8-cylinder options.

If you’re looking for a true muscle car, you’ll want one of the V8 options. The 6.2-liter V8 that comes with the SS and LT1 models makes the Camaro much more powerful, and a more performance-tuned suspension helps keep that power manageable. The V8 is an excellent upgrade if your budget allows it.

Finally, the ZL1 model benefits from a supercharged V8 producing a whopping 650 horsepower. Other standard performance upgrades include dual-mode exhaust, launch control, and Magnetic Ride Control.

The 1LE package available for the SS model adds all kinds of performance upgrades to make the Camaro more of a track car. Think of it like a non-supercharged ZL1. The ZL1 has a 1LE package that further adds DSSV dampers, carbon fiber bits, special tires, and its own set of specific ratios when you order the manual transmission.

The Camaro is primarily a performance car, but it’s pretty agreeable as a daily driver. It’s no family car because of its tiny pair of rear seats and tight trunk space. However, if you don’t carry many passengers or cargo regularly and don’t live in a snowy climate, the case can easily be made for daily driving a Camaro.

The inside of the Chevy Camaro is genuinely that of a modern sports car. It has a stylish, contemporary design with a satisfying air of simplicity. The seats are generously bolstered, and there are a few retro design cues much like the exterior.

The front seats are roomy and comfortable, but the back seats are a different story. The back seats in the Camaro are simply useless. Even children with short legs barely fit back there. If you’re looking for an American muscle car with useable back seats, check out the Dodge Challenger.

The Camaro’s interior gets nicer as you work your way up the model range. For example, the 3LT and 2SS models have aluminum interior accents, a head-up display, illuminated sill plates, a wireless charging pad, and more. The lower trims are a little more Spartan, but that’s okay for a bargain-priced sports car.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t highlight the terrible rear visibility in the Camaro. It’s so hard to see out of that it’s become something of a running joke ever since the Camaro returned in 2010. We highly recommend blind-spot monitoring if you can afford it.

The most recent facelift of the Camaro has been a bit controversial. The front-end is a bit of a love-it-or-hate-it design. However, the body lines create a muscle car that’s decidedly modern but takes a few retro design cues from classic Camaro models.

There’s some nice visual variety in the Camaro model range. For example, the SS models have a unique front fascia that’s a bit more aggressive than the lower trims, and the ZL1 has a look of its own that can’t be ignored. There are also special appearance packages like the Black Appearance Package, Shock and Steel Special Edition, and Redline Edition.

The Camaro is available as a coupe or a convertible, like its rival the Ford Mustang.

MUSCULAR ENGINES
There isn’t a bad engine under the hood of the Camaro. The base turbo-4 is strong yet efficient, the naturally-aspirated V8 gives it true muscle car character, and you can still get a V6 for good measure. For peak Camaro performance, get the supercharged ZL1.

1LE PACKAGE
Add the 1LE package to the SS or ZL1 models to make the Camaro a V8-powered muscle car that’s a beast on the track.

The standard equipment in the base 1LS trim is a little sparse, but it comes with the essentials. Standard features include 18-inch aluminum wheels, cloth seats, a power driver’s seat, a backup camera, air conditioning, power windows and door locks, power mirrors, LED headlights, and the Chevrolet Infotainment 3 system with Bluetooth, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay.

The standard powertrain is the turbocharged inline-4 engine mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. Rear-wheel drive is standard on every Camaro.

Upgrading to the 1LT trim doesn’t add many extra standard features to the Camaro, but it unlocks some desirable options. The most notable is the 3.6-liter V6 engine, which you can’t get in the base 1LS trim.

The 2LT trim adds dual-zone automatic climate control and not much else. The 3LT trim makes the Camaro a more premium sports car with features like Bose audio, a rear camera mirror, multicolor ambient interior lighting, a head-up display, a memory package, aluminum interior accents, a wireless charging pad, and safety features like forward collision alert, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and lane-change alert.

The LT1 trim is not to be confused with the 1LT trim. LT1 is where the 6.2-liter V8 engine becomes standard. Other than that, it’s equipped similarly to the 1LT model.

1SS keeps the same excellent V8 engine as the LT1 trim but adds a sportier appearance package while unlocking more options. 1SS comes standard with Brembo performance brakes, 20-inch tires, LED signature lighting, and available Magnetic Ride Control. The 2SS model has a list of premium interior and tech features similar to the 3LT model.

The ZL1 is the best of the best in the Camaro lineup. It not only delivers peak performance with a supercharged V8 engine, but it comes loaded with upscale features like what you get in the 2SS and 3LT models. On top of that, it has Recaro performance seats, an electronic limited-slip differential on the coupe model, dual-mode exhaust, an aggressive appearance package, and much more.

There are four engine options under the hood of the Chevy Camaro. The base engine is a turbocharged inline-4 that’s good for enthusiasts on a budget. It’s affordable, fuel-efficient, and powerful enough to be fun to drive. Upgrading to the V6 adds quite a bit of horsepower while keeping the price reasonable.

The 6.2-liter V8 in the 1LT and SS models adds serious muscle car performance and character to the Camaro. It produces impressive power and torque numbers while delivering an intoxicating exhaust note that’s hard to find in a modern sports car.

Finally, the top ZL1 revels in a supercharged V8 making 650 horsepower. The ZL1 competes with the elite in American muscle cars like the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500.

Every engine in the Camaro comes standard with a 6-speed manual transmission. The 4-cylinder has an optional 8-speed automatic, and a 10-speed automatic is available with the V6 and V8 engines.

2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 (LS, LT)
275 horsepower @ 5,600 rpm
295 lb-ft of torque @ 3,000-4,500 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 19/28 mpg (manual), 22/30 mpg (automatic)

3.6-liter V6 (LS, LT)
335 horsepower @ 6,800 rpm
284 lb-ft of torque @ 5,300 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 16/26 mpg (manual), 18/29 mpg (automatic)

6.2-liter V8 (LT1, SS)
455 horsepower @ 6,000 rpm
455 lb-ft of torque @ 4,400 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 16/24 mpg (manual), 16/26 mpg (automatic)

6.2-liter supercharged V8 (ZL1)
650 horsepower @ 6,400 rpm
650 lb-ft of torque @ 3,600 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 14/20 mpg (manual), 13/21 mpg (automatic)