If You Needed Proof That the Ultimate Camaro is Not a Prius, You Definitely Have It Now
Let’s be honest, none of us was expecting the 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 to be fuel efficient.
It doesn’t have to be, though. It’s not a commuter car. It’s not an mpg-focused, hyper-miling hybrid. There’s no outlet that you plug a charger into.
Plus, the ZL1 is an honest-to-goodness, to-hell-with-gas-mileage muscle car with a giant 6.2-liter supercharged gas V8 under its hood and the total obliteration of Mustangs and Challengers at the track on its computer brain.
With its available six-speed manual gearbox, the ZL1 can cover 14 city, 20 highway, and 16 combined miles per gallon of dino juice. That cog-packed new 10-speed auto? That brings the figures down to 12, 20, and 15, respectively. If you burn every single drop of gas (which shouldn’t be a hard or lengthy process in the cartoonishly overpowered Camaro), the (manual) ZL1’s maximum range is 304 miles, so make sure that your high-speed, cross-country trip hits plenty of gas stations along the way.
The EPA has even broken down the cost of going 25 miles in each ZL1 configuration. In the manual ZL1, you’re going to pay $4.45. In the auto version, you’ll pay 30 cents more. Over the course of a year, your bank account will be $2,650 lighter because of the former car and take a $2,850 hit from the latter.
No matter which tranny you pick, you’re going to pay about $54 to fill up the 19-gallon tank…quite often. Then again, the rush of 650 horsepower with one push of the gas pedal is priceless and instant.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
