*The Genesis Coupe feels light and eager, from the first touch of the throttle and turn of the steering wheel. In the city, it simply feels tighter, and brighter. If you’re not careful with the gas pedal, you can chirp tires away from stop signs and green lights. The ZF auto paddle shifts crisply and the steering has a liveliness not found in the Camaro.

The Camaro feels more staid and subdued in day-to-day motoring. Not slow, mind you. Slam on the gas and it will respond -- it just doesn’t have that wired-on-Red Bull feeling -- especially in the paddle shifting. A lot of this has to do with the steering and overall weight of the car. As I noted when I drove the SS, the Camaro seems to be a bit dead on center (likely to help with freeway cruising). It ramps up nicely as you start turning the wheel, but doesn’t respond with the immediacy or sharpness of either the track packed Mustang or Genesis Coupe.


Get it out in the canyons however, and it’s a different story. As speeds rise and corners start to pile up, the Genesis starts to lose a bit of its snap and composure. The Genesis Coupe's light steering gives up transparency and the wheels become a bit harder to place. Under similar conditions, the Camaro really starts to come into its own, especially in smooth corners, when those meaty 20-inch tires start shiatsu-ing the road. Really push it, and the Camaro responds with a planted feeling the Genesis just doesn’t have.

More anecdotal supporting evidence: During our little comparison last week, I had the chance to follow Art up some twisty canyons -- he in the Camaro RS, I behind the wheel of a track pack equipped Mustang GT. Now, we weren’t racing, but weren’t lolly gagging either -- I’d say I was doing 7/10ths or so. In the GT’s beefy third gear, I could stay easily with the RS in the straightaways, but would lose sight of Art through some of the corners. I noticed that he didn’t brush the brakes in any of the places I was -- perhaps evidence of the superior independent rear suspension? When we pulled in at our destination, I scurried over to Art and asked him how hard he’d been flogging it. “Not very” he said. Be interesting to see how all three of these would do around a race track.

So would I take a V-6 Camaro or Genesis Coupe 3.8? Well, I’m afraid I can't make that call until I get a chance to drive each of them back-to-back for a couple of days. Preferably at that race track I mentioned. Anybody be interested in that story?