The Corvette team aren’t giving up. They relentlessly chipping away at every reasonable argument a rational buyer can articulate for choosing some big-name, bucks-up, blue-blooded bahn-stormer over the crossed-flag cruise missile that Zora launched. This C6-1/2-generation Vette boasts more refinements and detail enhancements than one expects from a mid-cycle refresh of a supercar, but are they enough to steer the Porsche/BMW/Benz/Jag buyers into a Chevy store? To find out, we spirited a manual coupe and an automatic convertible away from the General’s Milford Proving Ground for a romp across rural southeast Michigan.
The new car’s steering effort increases in a more natural way. It’s generally lighter but, at the same time, feels less artificial, like there’s less friction in the system. The Vette no longer has to be muscled through turns; it now glides along with far less drama.
Even so, we found ourselves driving through the turns 5 to 10 mph faster in the new car than in the old. Because both cars had the same unchanged-for-2008 Z51 suspension package that includes larger brakes, shorter gear ratios, and a stiffer suspension, we didn’t expect such a dramatic difference. We even rechecked the pressures in the Goodyear tires to make sure they hadn’t been overinflated, which would make the new Vette jumpy over the bumps, but they were all at the factory-recommended setting of 30 psi. Clearly, then, the changes have made a huge improvement in the Chevy’s handling.
Sticker price (base model): $46,100
Dealer cost: $41,355
New Car Blue Book Value: $45,188
Five-year service cost: $3,677
One-year insurance cost: $1,576
Resale value on 3 years: 62% — 5 years: 50%
City: 16 mpg — Highway: 26 mpg
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