Drove c C7 Corvette

No mention of the huge delta in the looks department?

Thanks for the writeup.

 

I drive them every day. Not a bad car though I have no desire to own one.

 

We looked at them for my wife, she did not like them way too big. we got the camaro instead and absolutely love it. I may get one also

 

I had a convertible for a year. Traded it in for an Alfa 4c.

I always felt like the back end wanted to swap ends on me, even with the limited slip. It's a fine car but when I first showed it to some friends they said "So.... when did you retire?"

I personally think the styling is a miss. It will never be a classic.

Typical lousy Chevy quality also. I had the premium metallic red paint. The orangepeel was so bad it was literally an embarrassment. I didn't dare have it color corrected for fear they would have to remove the clear coat. I ordered the car at the factory and picked it up sight unseen. If I saw it at a dealer I would have passed. Even a year after picking it up the trunk had strong smell of glue when you opened it.

I also got the premium all leather interior. It's no Ferrari. Some areas looked like they were elephant skin.

I had the 7 speed manual which is "a gear too far". Would be much easier to drive with a more standard layout 6. Also was crunchy when cold. I'm like WTF? You can't make a car today that doesn't crunch gears until it's warm? And that STUPID 1 to 4 shift issue (where the car at certain times WON'T let you shift from 1st to 2nd but goes straight to 4th) drove me mad.

My biggest issue is there is no reason to run the engine over 3500 RPM. There's nothing more to gain when you go up there and the car has so much torque that you can shift into 1500 rpm and it doesn't make a difference. All you get is more noise but no more power or quicker times.

For the price it's a lot of car. But it did not tickle my fancy.

 

Well it makes peak power at over 6k rpm so it still needs to be shifted near redline for quickest acceleration.

Agreed that the torque curve is strong enough down low this is not necessary in normal driving.

 

After driving Italian cars it just felt like it had not much else to gain above 3500. The torque curve is really flat.

 

Yeah it doesn't have the sensation of coming on cam (which isn't helped by a relatively low redline in comparison to F-cars)

 

The biggest advantage to being in the driver's seat of a C7 is that you can't see the outside. That's one fugly car.

 

I just sold my 2015 Z06 - - Awesome car with STUPID power. It would get sideways if you mashed the gas at 60mph.

 

That's what my wife has too
I bought it new for her 2011 2SS, 6 speed, black with factory ground FX, Pypes exhaust on the LS3 sounds mean as hell.
She has HERSS on the plates.
I really like the car. They really screwed up the
Oops on the 6th gen though.
She keeps wanting to go trade it in on a new Corvette. Thank goodness she's realizing we're broke as hell and better be happy with what she has or it will be the next one to get sold to buy groceries.

 

I disagree with most of what's been said here. I had one of the first C7s back in October, 2013 as a 2014 model. Kept it for over a year and then moved on, like I always do.

The C7 Corvette in my opinion is an outstanding vehicle, price or not.

The looks of the car get a 10/10 score in my book. It is a very muscular looking car, and some would say it has even an exotic look to it. Beautiful lines and body detail.

The ride quality is terrific. The handling is terrific. The power is all you need, and it's really fast. The exhaust note is terrific.

The manual shifter is no gated Ferrari shifter, but then again which manufacturer offering a manual can touch the swiftness of a Ferrari gated shifter?

It is a much better car than the 355 in every single engineering area: power, handling, technology, etc etc. Does the C7 stir my soul the way a 355 does? Absolutely it does not. Would I rather have a C7 than a 355? Absolutely not.

But let's not kid ourselves. The C7 is a world-class machine, and a really nice car for someone who likes Corvettes and someone with an open mind who may have disliked Corvettes forever (like me).

I never owned an American car before the C7, and I didn't feel as though I was fitting in with the Corvette crowd. I also like a mid-engine layout for my sports cars. So I enjoyed it for a while and moved on.

 

And which manufacturer other than Ferrari could convince their customers that the fact they couldn't use 2nd gear when the car was still cold, was all part of the charm of owning one of their mega expensive cars? (To be fair, I suspect Lamborghini probably could).

Had Mercedes Benz or BMW have made cars whose 2nd gear was unavailable until a few miles into the drive, there would have been a public outcry!

Ferrari do it and it's like a badge of honour of ownership: "Yes it's a proper Ferrari - You can't use 2nd gear until the car is ready, not the driver!"

I'm surprised Ferrari haven't found a way to make their flappy paddle gearboxes skip 2nd gear when cold, just to keep up the tradition!




As for the C7 Corvette, I like the look of them (they do look a bit out of place though here in the UK), and you do get a lot of performance for your money.

I've never driven one, but I do get the impression from the various road tests that I've read and watched that they do lack the sort of finesse that a Ferrari has, when it comes to the way they drive (but they are a massive improvement over the earlier Corvettes).

I also get the impression that the quality of the interiors is still lagging behind the offerings from Germany and Italy to a degree.

If I lived in the US though, it would be seriously tempting to own one.

 

Agree 100%.
A fabulous car at twice the price it cost.
A lot of elitist views here.......

 

As much as I do like the C7, between it and our Ferraris - either a 348 or 355 - I'd keep the Ferrari. So much more soul than the American car. If you are talking about the C6 Z06, man I'd have a bit more doubt because, to me, that is a performance car. Looks great, has lots of machismo and runs like a demon. It is not overpowered like the C7 Z06 or the C6 ZR1. It's acquisition price is downright affordable given its qualities. And, not too many nannies doing your job of driving. Manual transmission only too. Still not a Ferrari.

If you really want to drive a car that will make you doubt your Ferrari allegiance, try a 996 or 997 Porsche GT3. IMO, that is about as close to Ferrari as Porsche has or will ever come.

 

Maybe you're being too easy on it. Just bang it into second when cold, I'm sure it would go, it does with the F1 system.

 

I like the C6Z too (prefer it to C7). I bought a new one in 07. A great car and damn fast but I enjoyed it more on the track (or wide open highway).

 

.....................

 

Some people don't know vettes. Heck even the lowly 1997 C5 had equal performance to the 97' F355. By the time the C5 Z06 came out it smashed the F355 on every metric. Each generation vette is on par with the Ferrari of its time for a fraction of the price and infinite reliability, available parts , and nationwide dealer network in the most remote parts of the country. People bash American leather? Has anyone looked at their Ferrari lately with bolster wear after low 5 digit miles and shrunken leather dash or Sticky plastic parts that spawned and industry of destickifyers? Geeze I can stand on my American leather with my ski boots and not leave a mark. Who would do that on their Ferrari? Yes a vette isn't a Ferrari its a vette. And I own both have raced both and there are more models of both in my future.

 

Hate to keep bringing this up but for the record my 355 ran faster than a c5 in the 1/4, pretty much right there with C5 Z06 times.

Not exactly getting smashed especially when you consider it's down 2.2 liters in displacement.

I'm not downing the vette. Great value for the money. The leather (well, on the top surfaces of only the seats, rest is vinyl if we are talking C5) is more durable but doesn't smell or feel as good as an f car.

 

Nope stock 97 F355 and stock 97 C5

F355 0-60 4.7sec 13 sec qtr
97 C5 0-60 4.6sec 13.1 qtr

anyone thing a C5Z06 isn't a huge amount faster than a stock base C5 should come racing with us.


Ferrari 0-60 Times & Ferrari Quarter Mile Times | Ferrari LaFerrari, 458, F355, 360, 550 & more 0 to 60 stats!

 

One thing the Vette wins: if you want a new car, you can get one with a manual transmission...disappointing that you can't do that in a new Ferrari or Lambo. That just doesn't seem right.
One thing the Vette loses: in a 10 minute drive you will see 3 or 4 similar cars. Same with a Porsche.
Interesting the positive reviews above on the Camaro. Certainly a nice car, but for those who have never sat in one, next time you see one, check out the dimensions of the side windows. They are about a foot high. Then examine how incredibly high the the window sill on the top of the door is. Has that cool chopped top look on the outside, but from inside it's like looking out of a gun slit in a pill box.

 

I had one with a manual. Very disappointed. Not all manuals are good manuals. The C7's seven speed box is IMO not worth the extra gear for the payoff.

Once again fuel economy restrictions ruin something for everyone.

 

I had a 95 vette (C4) for about 8 years. I bought it with 20K miles for $22K. I was the second owner. For the cost, it was a great value. But, if I compare that 95 to a 95 F355......Hmmmmm, ZERO comparison. The vette was a poor man's sports car (to use a common statement).

As Paul pointed out, I could not drive a mile without passing one just like it (perhaps in a different color). The targa top was a PITA to take on and off as it's bolted in (stores nicely though). I did not love the fact that the front end was as long as the Titanic and it certainly did not feel like the gokart that the 355 does.

As Jim pointed out, the interior was some pretty poor leather and vinyl.

For the money, great car and I enjoyed it but it's no Ferrari and IMHO, the new one is not a very attractive car - it just looks cheap.

I'm proud to be an American but not too proud to say the Europeans are kicking our buts when it comes to cars (especially in style)

 

It's spring here so I can finally get the cars out.

In the past two weekends of driving I have seen no less than eight (8) C7 corvettes on the road or at places I visited. I live in little old Green Bay, WI.

Eight! I saw less Porsche Boxsters than C7 vette's so far.

I like cars that are unique and different. Hell I might buy an Isetta! But a Corvette? NOT a chance not matter how well it drives, looks, feels or costs. No way. No how.