July 03--I have a friend -- we'll call him Bill because that's his name -- who loves the full-size American sedan and laments the modern automotive diet of downsizing. An admitted throwback, he prefers bench seats, body roll, large trunks and the slip-'n'-slide rawness of rear-wheel drive.
The Chevy SS was made for him. The latest iteration of the stand-alone super sport (SS) badge was introduced in limited production in 2014, the first time in 17 years Chevy had offered a rear-wheel drive sedan.
The Australian-built full-size sedan, known as the Holden VF Commodore Down Under (also re-badged a Pontiac G8 in 2008), runs on Chevy's Mexican-built powerhouse LS3 engine that has been fitted in everything from the C6 Corvette to the outgoing Camaro, albeit without the fuel-saving feature of cylinder deactivation.
In the SS, the 6.2-liter LS3 V-8 engine produces 415 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque, enough to swim the tail of this big fish on the simplest of turns. Over-steer was fun in the heyday of muscle cars and it can be fun for more experienced drivers who will appreciate turning off traction control for a bit more wildness.
The ever-present rumble of the naturally aspirated V-8 only gets better with the 6-speed manual transmission (now offered in 2015 models) as a more visceral alternative to the paddle-shift six-speed automatic, and for no extra cost. Chevy must see this as the only way to keep up with the Dodge Charger SRT or even the 707-horsepower Hellcat, which don't and won't come with a manual transmission.
In 2014, Chevy sold fewer than 2,500 units of the SS after a somewhat torrid first half, before the Hellcat Charger swallowed all the publicity in the narrow niche of ridiculously powered family sedans. Through May 2015, sales of the SS were down slightly from 2014, so the manual transmission hasn't shifted sales into the next gear.
The stubby, leather-wrapped gear stick feels great, but more than once the throws came up short when I wasn't driving aggressively; getting caught in the notches was as much me as the gearbox, and I'm sure owners will form a more sure-handed relationship.
The flat-bottomed leather wrapped steering wheel is electronically tuned to performance, so it's looser at low speeds and firms up at higher speeds.
Weighing just under 4,000 pounds -- or 400 pounds lighter than the Dodge Charger SRT -- the SS still feels as heavy as a full-size sedan until you climb the torque curve, which is optimized at 4,600 rpm. It never really sheds its size, which is a turnoff for me, but it makes guys like Bill unreasonably happy.
Magnetic ride control is also new for the 2015 SS. This type of shock absorber is much faster in responding to changes in the road or the driver inputs, so Bill is not going to get as much body roll as he likes. He can choose three modes -- Tour, Sport and Performance -- to moderate his driving. Bill would keep it in Tour and wish he could slide across a nonexistent bench seat.
The eight-way bucket seats hug the sides of the driver without engulfing him, and the comfort level is not compromised for performance, with heated and ventilated seats standard. In fact, nearly everything comes standard on the fully loaded $45,745 SS except a sunroof, which adds $900.
The interior of the SS is gorgeous, a fine blend of the tactile and bright, with a velvety soft-touch instrument top, and chrome girding the center stack and controls. The test model was jet black, and the black on chrome with red SS badging on the instrument top and seat backs bolstered the aggressive nature of the car. The redundant steering wheel controls and touch screen were all too cramped and laborious to use, but the voice controls let me get what I needed without a problem. Except for cruising at highway speed, my hands were too preoccupied to mess with infotainment, though the SS with MyLink and navigation is a Wi-Fi hot spot.
The SS is about half a foot shorter than the Charger or Impala, Chevy's other full-size sedan, yet the space between the wheels is 3 inches more on the SS, giving it a sportier profile and stance than the Impala. Standard 19-inch forged aluminum wheels complement the look. There is more grille than fender than on the Impala, and the test car came in regal peacock green -- seriously -- but it was so dark that a more appropriate name might be nighttime chameleon green.
A rear-wheel drive 6.2-liter V-8 full-size sedan with a manual transmission, tricked out at just under $45,745, is an unusual offering. For people like Bill, who love a romanticized version of a classic American car yet swaddled with all the modern comforts and conveniences, the SS is a worthy option.
2015 Chevrolet SS at a glance
Vehicle type: full-size performance sedan
Base price: $45,745
As tested: $46,645 (excluding $995 destination charge)
EPA mpg: 15 city, 21 highway
Engine: 6.2-liter V-8 engine
Transmission: 6-speed manual with rear-wheel drive
Parting shot: Full-size V-8 sedan in rear-wheel drive with a manual transmission: Enough said.
rduffer@tribpub.com
