[wjones14]

I never drove a ZL1 or an M2, but I can talk about the differences between the 2 Series and the Camaro.

I owned an M235i for 3 years before trading it in on a 2SS 1LE. Loved the BMW at first and was blown away by the quality of the car and the culture at the dealership. It was a fun/weekend car for me while I also had a Mini as a daily driver. I took the BMW to 3 HPDE track days (once per year) in the Intermediate run group, and it was quite capable.

A couple years after buying the BMW I decided I wanted something more brash and potent and test drove an SS Camaro. It was love at first drive - the sound and racecar-like feel were overwhelming, causing me to completely overlook the shortcomings like the poor visibility and ergonomics.

Two years with the 2SS and now the compromises are clear. As a track car, the Camaro can't be beat in its price segment. Period. It's totally amazing on track, and has the brakes and cooling to last all day easily. Chevy actually warranties the car for track use, and it's built to take it. The standard Head-Up Display is seemingly made for the track - it has shift lights that converge together and go from green-to-yellow-to-red like an F1 car.

On paper, the 2SS 1LE seems like it would be a great street car too. Standard equipment includes heated and ventilated suede Recaros, heated alcantara steering wheel, blind spot monitoring, cross-traffic alert, parking sensors, customizable digital gauges, Bose stereo, ambient lighting, Apple car play, Android auto, etc. But the negatives become apparent quickly. Ingress/egress is bad because the seating is so low. Visibility is horrendous - diehards say you get used to it, and you do, because what other choice do you have? The rear seats are useless. Interior storage is so bad there's no place to put your phone other than a cupholder - believe it or not, the center console is too small for a phone. Ride quality is stiff. Over 5200 miles I have averaged 17.5 mpg and it requires 93 octane - the ZL1 has even worse economy.

The Camaro excels when it comes to brute force, and no doubt, it's fun and rewarding to drive. Randy Pobst loves the car so much that he recently bought one for himself, so that's all you need to know about it being a driver's car. But as an everyday car - I'm personally considering trading in my Camaro and Mini for a pre-owned M2C when they start to become available.