We don’t normally cover cars here on Gizmodo – we love them, but most of them are just more of the same – but when John Hallenborg offered to give us a review of the new 2005 Chevrolet Corvette (the C6), with a special focus on the gadgety interior, well… how could we resist?
Took a spin in a 2005 C6 Corvette, a six speed manual example in Millenium yellow (paint option: $750) with the Z51 performance package ($1,495). Thanks to dealer Corvette Mike of Anaheim, California, it was a grin-inducing drive, but I had a few reservations. The great news is that Chevrolet has gotten it right this time, as although the styling seems distinctly Italian-derived, the car has an integrated quality no previous Corvette has had. Construction is tight the way a good European car is tight. The interior is nice, tidily functional, much improved over its predecessor (the C5 was made from 1997-2004), which had an abundance of cheap plastic trim. Leather seats were comfortable, headroom good for me at six foot two inches, and ergonomics take a major role, unlike in any previous take on this American classic, an early version of which immortalized the brand name in the great Route 66 TV show (1960-1964).
The 6-liter V8 engine is quick to respond with a muted roar, and acceleration is beyond brisk at any speed up to where state police helicopters take notice. Top speed is 186, which means it ll do 150 as readily as your Camry will do 80. I found the best feature on the car to be the suspension that comes with the Z51 package, a $1,495 option and well worth it. The car covered the road as well or better than any exotic I have driven, Ferraris, you name it, with no squeaks from the fiberglass body, which was a big problem in the past. Although the steering is nimble, feedback from the road is negligible. Consider the new Lotus Elise if you are a back road purist. Nonetheless, the new Corvette is a thrill in the turns, as cornering grip is almost absurd. It just covers ground so easily and stops right now, thanks to huge disc brakes front and rear.
A navigation system with Bose 7 speaker premium sound system runs another $1,400, but this is not something I would pop for, but if you are one of those people who don t know where they re going . At $4,360, I cannot recommend the preferred equipment group package either, as it includes what I would characterize as a lot of crap, viz.: heated seats, head up display, air bags everywhere, homelink transmitter, blah, blah, blah. I d rather put that money toward an aftermarket header and exhaust system that would add both another 25 horsepower or so to the 400 horses Chevy provides, and a subterranean growl reminiscent of Corvette s monster machines of the past, such as the 7-liter beasts from the mid-to-late 1960s. In stock form with the windows up, noise levels in the car are surprisingly low, which will please many, but not me.
Detroit has been installing ever more elaborate electronics in its vehicles and the Corvette s system is a prime example. Access is gained with a proximity system that eschews keyholes in favor of remote control. As long as the key and programmed electronic fob is with you, you can open the doors and push a dashboard button to start and stop the engine. Open the doors from the inside with an electronic activated push button. That would take some getting used to and these features seem like make-work exercises for GM s electrical engineers. Much better are the nifty, small headlamps, which light up the road from a fixed position, a leap forward in both the looks and functionality departments. Just know that the manuals for the car are two-inches thick.
What if the battery goes dead? Then you use a mechanical system whereby you turn a key in a lock under the rear of the car, which gives you access to a latch in the compartment behind the driver s seat, which pops the hood. Rube Goldberg lives on, but these are minor gripes, certainly not enough to put one off the car if you are shopping for world-class performance at a world-beating price of less than $60,000. Now if Hollywood would remake the Route 66 TV show with the new car, America would have two related reasons to celebrate.
John Hallenborg is a Los Angeles-based writer who has covered technology and finance issues for numerous publications, on- and offline.
