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At my Cars & Coffee, we got a dude we call Corvette Ed. Because Ed loves him some Corvettes.
He ordered his 2020 Corvette day 1, and he received it a few months ago. It's a White 1lt with the only options being some red fender stripes, and the glass (plastic, really) roof panel. The interior is black with some red accents.
It spent 38 days at the dealership with lights lit up all over the dash, issues arose within 50 miles after taking delivery. Lots of codes and lights pertaining to the breaking system (and other things), and it took the dealership a long time to finally find the issue; a tiny bolt on the wheel hub assembly hadn't been tightened down properly, and it caused damage to the hub, and fried the wheel-speed sensor from the heat.
But, they finally figured it out, and now Ed has his Corvette. Ed's happy, and that car is ****ing sweeeet.
Ed's a great guy, so he let a few of us take it or a spin.
These Corvettes have 8 speed DCTs, and they define the car. It's astonishingly smooth to drive, because when the transmission shifts it's instantaneous, there's no pause in the power delivery. Shifts do not register through your butt, just through your ears and eyes (tachometer).....it's a bit disconcerting at first. This makes the car's forward acceleration (I only drove it at low speeds, mind you) feel like an electric car, like there aren't gears being shifted through.
Ed didn't get the Z51 package with the bigger breaks and tighter suspension, nor the magnetorheological shocks. And at least from my impressions, there's no need for those performance options. The car's handling and ride is......again, weird. It's so composed/firm, and yet so smooth riding, that coupled with the way the trans works, it's a magic carpet ride. And that's the standard suspension. Granted, maybe during more aggressive driving the suspension might not be as controlled as I'd like, but it felt just fine in my limited time behind the wheel. And the stiffness of the structure sure is evident, as it feels very tight and rigid.
The interior is much better (and larger) than a C7 Corvette. And the base seats were very comfortable. The interior is just an amazing place to be, you feel like you're at the front edge of the car, looking forward and downward at the same time. It feels like you're up high (because the front of the car is so short and low in front of you), but you're also sitting very low. The LCD dash is amazing (even though Ed hadn't pulled the plastic film off it yet), and the infotainment pad isn't too intrusive once you're behind the wheel.
About the only negative was that the roof is so low, it blocks a bit of your forward/upward vision.
Anyways......my short, slow drive netted some very positive impressions. The driving experience is unlike anything else. Silky-smooth is the best words to describe it.
Another interesting point, is that the base car comes with all-season performance tires. I think they contribute a lot to the smooth ride. NVH in the C8 does seem quite lower.
I'm trying to find a base C8 testing article, to see what numbers they run. I've only found a video/post or two where a base C8 did 0-60 in less than 3 seconds. Many in just over 3. The base car's A/S tires mean they can hook better when it's colder, and the atmosphere is more oxygen rich, meaning more power.
He ordered his 2020 Corvette day 1, and he received it a few months ago. It's a White 1lt with the only options being some red fender stripes, and the glass (plastic, really) roof panel. The interior is black with some red accents.
It spent 38 days at the dealership with lights lit up all over the dash, issues arose within 50 miles after taking delivery. Lots of codes and lights pertaining to the breaking system (and other things), and it took the dealership a long time to finally find the issue; a tiny bolt on the wheel hub assembly hadn't been tightened down properly, and it caused damage to the hub, and fried the wheel-speed sensor from the heat.
But, they finally figured it out, and now Ed has his Corvette. Ed's happy, and that car is ****ing sweeeet.
Ed's a great guy, so he let a few of us take it or a spin.
These Corvettes have 8 speed DCTs, and they define the car. It's astonishingly smooth to drive, because when the transmission shifts it's instantaneous, there's no pause in the power delivery. Shifts do not register through your butt, just through your ears and eyes (tachometer).....it's a bit disconcerting at first. This makes the car's forward acceleration (I only drove it at low speeds, mind you) feel like an electric car, like there aren't gears being shifted through.
Ed didn't get the Z51 package with the bigger breaks and tighter suspension, nor the magnetorheological shocks. And at least from my impressions, there's no need for those performance options. The car's handling and ride is......again, weird. It's so composed/firm, and yet so smooth riding, that coupled with the way the trans works, it's a magic carpet ride. And that's the standard suspension. Granted, maybe during more aggressive driving the suspension might not be as controlled as I'd like, but it felt just fine in my limited time behind the wheel. And the stiffness of the structure sure is evident, as it feels very tight and rigid.
The interior is much better (and larger) than a C7 Corvette. And the base seats were very comfortable. The interior is just an amazing place to be, you feel like you're at the front edge of the car, looking forward and downward at the same time. It feels like you're up high (because the front of the car is so short and low in front of you), but you're also sitting very low. The LCD dash is amazing (even though Ed hadn't pulled the plastic film off it yet), and the infotainment pad isn't too intrusive once you're behind the wheel.
About the only negative was that the roof is so low, it blocks a bit of your forward/upward vision.
Anyways......my short, slow drive netted some very positive impressions. The driving experience is unlike anything else. Silky-smooth is the best words to describe it.
Another interesting point, is that the base car comes with all-season performance tires. I think they contribute a lot to the smooth ride. NVH in the C8 does seem quite lower.
I'm trying to find a base C8 testing article, to see what numbers they run. I've only found a video/post or two where a base C8 did 0-60 in less than 3 seconds. Many in just over 3. The base car's A/S tires mean they can hook better when it's colder, and the atmosphere is more oxygen rich, meaning more power.
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