As it has been since the beginning, some 40 years ago, the Corvette's body is fabricated from molded composite, or fiberglass, panels. These panels are exceptionally dent-resistant, ding-proof and will not corrode or rust. However, any accident leading to damaged bodywork will result in considerable repair costs.Much about the Corvette represents interesting technology, and virtually all of it is performance oriented. Suspension components are made of forged aluminum. The brakes are big, powerful vented discs front and rear, and anti-lock braking is standard equipment. The front and rear springs are a monoleaf design made of glass-epoxy composite. The Corvette's exhilarating performance comes from a 5.7-liter V8 that has been in continuous development for four decades. It generates 300 hp and 340 lb.-ft. of torque, enough punch to accelerate the car from 0 to 60 mph in less than 6 seconds and reach a top speed (if you can find a test track big enough) of over 160 mph. Chevrolet is wise to have made traction control a standard feature. Speaking of standard features, the Corvette is fitted with an electronically controlled 4-speed automatic transmission. A 6-speed manual is available as a no-cost option. It's indicative of the majority of today's Corvette buyers, and their driving habits, that the automatic is standard and the manual is an option. The manual is awkward to use, and includes a mechanism that forces the shift to go from first to fourth, bypassing second and third gears, in leisurely acceleration. This is done for fuel economy reasons but detracts from the pleasure of the around-town driving experience. Although insurance companies take a dim view of the Corvette's performance potential, its sports-car agility does have active safety overtones. In addition, standard safety features include dual airbags and a reinforced safety cage around the passenger compartment.
Although the Corvette's pricing starts well north of the luxury frontier, it's no luxury cruiser. Just getting in and out requires some contortions. The car is low, but making things worse is a very high door sill that you have to climb over before snaking your feet and legs past the steering wheel and down into the footwell. Once inside there are more problems. Numerous secondary control functions are poorly located and inconvenient to use. The instrumentation, though flashy, is odd. Supplemental gauges are arranged so that the gauge needles operate in opposition to the value being indicated. For example, as temperature increases, the needle on the temperature gauge moves downward. It makes deciphering the information needlessly confusing. The seating position is generally acceptable, even for tall people, as the footwells extend far forward. Once you figure out the awkward seat controls and get everything adjusted, the driving position can be made comfortable for just about anyone, with the reaches to the steering wheel, shift lever and pedals obviously configured for high-performance driving. Outward vision to the front is good, and vision to the sides is adequate. But vision to the rear corners is somewhat limited, something that's true of many sports cars. In the coupe there's a fair amount of cargo space behind the seats, reached by opening the rear hatch-like window. The convertible, however, offers only minimal capacity for luggage, so pack lightly. The fit, finish and apparent quality of materials on a Corvette is only average. Gaps and seams aren't handled particularly well. Much of the plastic looks just a little too much like plastic, and on the whole it lacks the kind of tight, solid, rattle-free feel consumers have come to expect in a modern car, especially one costing this much. This Corvette body has been in production for more than 10 years, and in that time the quality has improved dramatically. But it still doesn't have the secure, all-in-one-piece feel that characterizes other high performance sports cars such as the Porsche 968, Toyota Supra, Nissan 300ZX and Acura NSX. |
