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2005
Corrvette
2005
Corvette – It’s Really Special
by Frank S. Washington
NNPA Columnist
 |
Contrary
to this stock photograph of the all-new Corvette, the weather wiped
me out again. For the second time, rain threw a wet blanket on my
test drive of the 2005 Corvette, internally code named C6. But this
time I wasn’t at General Motors’ test track, I had the C6 for five
days and decided to make the best of a bad weather situation.
By now, most folks know the important digits about the C6. It has
a 6.0-liter V-8 that makes 400 horsepower and 400 pounds-feet of
torque. There is a choice of three transmissions: a four-speed automatic
and two six-speed manuals. And there is also a choice of three different
suspensions. |
Top speed is 186
miles per hour. Zero to 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour is 4.2 seconds.
The Z51 performance package reduces that spurt to 4.1 seconds. And the
C6 can cover the quarter mile in 12.3 seconds while reaching 114 mph.
All the performance
in the world means nothing when it’s raining as it was for most of my
test drive. That’s when sports cars morph from fun to frustrating. The
cabins get cramped, the windows fog up and all of a sudden you find
yourself just trying to stay out of the way. That didn’t happen with
the C6. The car had some low-speed spark. It is almost half a foot shorter
than the model it replaces and it’s narrower too. That’s to say although
Corvette claims the C6 has the same “usable” interior space as the car
it replaced, it was a bit snugger inside than the C5. Still, I never
felt claustrophobic.
There was plenty
of room, the sights lines were wide and the car never fought the wet
stuff. It was just raining. That doesn’t mean I was foolish. I handled
the accelerator with care, as well as the down shifting and I didn’t
try to power out of turns. In return, I didn’t experience any slipping,
sliding or wheel spin.
My test vehicle
was equipped with the Z51 performance package. In addition to larger
brake rotors, performance tires, and a sport tuned suspension, the six-speed
manual transmission had an aggressive gear ratio to improve acceleration.
Also, it had a numerically lower fifth gear that gave the C6 Z51 better
fuel efficiency.
After five days,
my C6 had just under a half tank of gas left. I found that really impressive.
And even though the transmission was geared for aggressive shifting,
the car handled quite nicely at low speeds. Still, the sport tuned transmission
demanded to be handled with authority. I had to put the car firmly in
gear.
That was okay and
so was the ride. The streets here were already in winter time condition
with ruts, pot holes, and wash board surfaces. I thought the C6 handled
the roads rather well, that was surprising too. I was expecting a much
rougher ride. The C6’s ride wasn’t rough at all.
The sense I got
of the C6 is that it could be driven just about everyday. In other words,
it was more than a weekend marauder. I got caught in traffic, a situation
I loathe n high-powered sports cars with manual transmissions, but the
C6 wasn’t bad.
It was comfortable
and the clutch did not wear me out. After five days, I only had a couple
of quibbles with the C6. While it had a manual tilting steering wheel,
there was a power telescoping feature. Let’s have an all power, or all
manual tilt/telescoping steering wheel, please.
My other quibble
was the radio. I had to hold the seek button, until the radio gave a
ping to let me know it had found the next station and then release it
so it could lock onto it. I don’t like the feature on any vehicle because
it keeps your hand on the button and off the steering way too long.
And in the case of the C6, when the volume is up, you can’t hear the
ping.
But the C6 has a
feature that I’m starting to like a lot – push button start which also
featured keyless access. Slight pressure on a solenoid pad and the door
opens, push a button and it unlocks from the inside, walk away from
the car and it will lock itself.
The C6 was based
priced at $43,445. But my test vehicles had the preferred equipment
group, the Z51 performance package, a DVD-based navigation system and
polished aluminum wheels. Among its other options were a heads up display,
heated seats, a premium audio system with MP3 capability and an in-dash
six disc CD player. It also had frontal and side impact air bags and
Xenon headlamps.
I’ve heard it said
that what separates good sports cars from great ones is not how fast
they go but how well they perform at low speeds. By that barometer,
the C6 is world class.
Frank S. Washington,
a former correspondent for Newsweek magazine, has covered the automobile
industry for such publications as Automotive News, Advertising Age and
the Detroit News Online. Your comments are welcomed. Washington can
be reached at P.O. Box 23167, Detroit, Michigan 48223 or by e-mail at
[email protected]. You can also visit his Web site, aboutthatcar.com.
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