I owned a 13 ZL1 for 3.5 years and daily drove the car. It was a great car but I felt it was time for something new.
First I am not in love with the new 16 Camaro looks.... so there is that. The 16 ZL1 looks very close to a standard Camaro and is less distinct than the older cars in my opinion. But with less weight and more power I thought maybe.
So I drove a fully loaded 16 SS2 Camaro with Mag Ride and 6 Pot brakes. Car was over 50K and only slightly cheaper than I paid for my 13 ZL1. (And 20K more than my fully loaded 10 SS2 Camaro was!!!)
1) Performance. Both cars are supposed to be about the same. There is no way. Maybe my RotoFab gave me 100 more RWHP <jk> but it was not even close.
2) Outward view. About the same and maybe a little worse out the back. (Can that even be possible?)
3) Overall livability. The 16+ Camaros are a ton smaller inside. My head hit the roof and did not on my 13. The trunk is microscopic! The 13 had 12 cubic feet of trunk space and the 16 has 9 cubic feet.
The back seat has zero leg or head room which made it useless other than small kids or a storage shelf. (Maybe makes up some for the joke of a trunk.)
So I drove a 16 2LZ Z06 Corvette.
1) Interior headroom is better than the Camaro. Quality of the Corvette interior is better than the new Camaro. And has more interior features included unless they add some in the ZL1 that were not in the SS2 car. The front parking cameras are awesome. Always hated parking nose in on my ZL1 due to fear of hitting the spoiler on the parking bumper. I did not see the cameras on the front of the 16 ZL1 show cars.
2) Power.... More power and less weight. No chance the new ZL1 will be lighter or more powerful than a Z06. It will definitely have less rear tire so traction will be less. My 13 ZL1 was very strong and could clip an easy 11 sec quarter mile if I drove it well. The Z06 is a full SECOND faster and it is easy to feel the difference.
3) Handling. My ZL1 was amazing. The Z06 is just better which was hard for me to believe.
4) Livability. The Corvette has a 15 cubic feet of space and is massive. The downside is that you have to lift all items over the fender to put them into it. My car is an Aero2 car so the wing is a PITA that blocks rear trunk access. Also has better visibility. Fuel cost is better than my ZL1. My ZL1 was averaging 14.6 MPG and my Z06 is 18 MPG. (I tend to be a little hot footed so not getting the best mileage I could on either car.)
5) Cost. Base Z06 is more money than ZL1. I expect most 16 ZL1 to be mid 60K and pushing 70K depending on options. As they will be new most will sell at MSRP or above. The Z06 has been out for a bit so deals can be had. I paid way below sticker on mine. No matter what the cost on a Z06 will be higher but for at least the next 12 months I would expect them to be close enough to be a consideration.
So that is my long winded review. For the money I would consider the Vette over the new ZL1. One to look out for is the new Grand Sport. Once it hits I am certain new Z51s on the lots will get a ton of mark down.
