The Ford Mustang vs the Chevrolet Camaro

The rivalry between the Ford Mustang and the Chevrolet Camaro dates back to the 1960s. The first production Ford Mustang was released in 1964, while Chevrolet unveiled their pony car in 1966 for the 1967 model. These iconic American sports cars have been competing with each other, not just for sales, but for the hearts of pony car lovers. The competition between the Mustang and the Camaro is one of the most famous in automotive history. Since both cars offer similar performance, pricing, trims, and specs, choosing between the two can be tough. In this blog post, we’re comparing these iconic sports cars to make your choice easier.

Exterior

Both cars have a jaw-dropping exterior design, inspired with previous generations of these sports cars. The Ford Mustang underwent a minor redesign in 2018, whereas the Camaro was facelifted a year later. The Ford Mustang got new headlights and an updated interior. The Chevrolet Camaro now has a new radiator fascia, headlamps, and a facelifted rear lid. Each of these pony cars is available in both coupe and convertible variants. The current generation of the Ford Mustang has features reminiscent of the first production Mustang, like the three-part taillights and its sloping roof. The Camaro, on the other hand, has straighter lines and a flashier design. Square taillights look like the first generation while the narrow LED-headlamps are similar to the fourth generation Camaro. 

Interior

The Chevrolet Camaro has a more refined cabin: inside you’ll see plenty of well-placed controls and a user-friendly multimedia system with both apps for smartphone integration. A drawback is that the Chevy Camaro’s windshield and rear window are low and narrow, so rear visibility is extremely poor.

The Ford Mustang, on the other hand, has better overall visibility because of bigger windows. The Mustang also comes standard with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The materials and surfaces inside the Ford Mustang are better than inside the Camaro: they aren’t made of hard plastics. Higher-level trims have a 12-inch gauge display instead of traditional buttons on the instrument cluster. Both sports cars are available with a Wi-Fi hot-spot and different options for interior personalization, such as individual gear knobs and suede seat inserts.

Performance

The Chevrolet Camaro comes standard with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine which puts out 275 horsepower, with the option of a 3.6-liter V6 with 335 horsepower. The base engine for the Ford Mustang is a 2.3-liter EcoBoost with 310 horsepower, and they’ve discontinued the 3.7-liter V6 found in older models. Rear-wheel-drive contributes to an agile, thrilling, and stiff ride for both cars. 

Neither cars are available with all-wheel-drive, unfortunately. The Camaro and the Mustang come standard with a 6-speed manual transmission, but both are available with an automatic transmission. The Ford Mustang with the 2.3-liter EcoBoost reaches 60 mph in 5.3 seconds, the Chevrolet Camaro provides nearly the same figures and hits 60 mph between 5.0 and 5.4 seconds depending on the transmission and body type. On the other hand, the top-tier Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 hits 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds. The Shelby GT500 does the same through a 760 horsepower engine, 110 more than the ZL1.

Trims

Both are available in multiple trims, from sports cars suitable for daily driving to high-performance, track-oriented tools. The Chevrolet Camaro is available in 8 trims: 1LS, 1LT, 2LT, 3LT, LT1, 1SS, 2SS, ZL1 while the Ford Mustang has 7: EcoBoost, EcoBoost Premium, GT, Bullitt, GT350, GT350R, GT500. Both cars have plenty of tech on higher-level trims to record your track performance. The Mustang has “Track Apps” which collect information about lap-times and G-force. Chevrolet offers sophisticated electronics which provide information about the steering angle, engine rpm, and the time on the track. The Camaro is available with a small camera in the front bumper, so you can record laps.

Bottom Line

The rivalry between the Camaro and the Mustang belongs to one of the most contentious competitions in the automotive world. Both the Mustang and the Camaro see minor changes each year, so it makes the choice difficult. If you’re eager to drive a sports car, start looking for your next toy on Salvagebid. To start bidding right from the comfort of your home, register with us, upload a copy of your government-issued ID or passport, and place a refundable security deposit. Contact us online or call us at + 1 (360) 347-1300 (6:00 AM – 3:00 PM PST, Monday to Friday) if you have questions.