You'd be surprised. 30-36MPG is not unheard of from the LS1 motor on a motorway run, 20-23MPG round town. (UK gallons)

and the Z; just like the C5 Z before it doesnt have the gas guzzler tax on it... which does say a lot. US gallons it gets somewhere near 27-28 mpg...

It's not bad at all, especially when compared to WRX STi, Evo and of course the dreadful RX8 MPG!

What's the RX-8 get?

epa estimates suggest 24 for the STi... id guess similar for the Evo VIII; and i think its 22 for the RX-8... just going off the top of my head... but i'm sure you can find out at www.mazda.com (im only comparing the highway estimates)

But to realize that mileage you must quickly short shift to 6th and not go above 1800rpm and be on the freeway ;)

In other words, drive it like it wasn't meant to be :twisted:

That's why 24 mpg is difficult to achieve on my 4 banger...

Drove a Corvette C6 6spd, t's not european so it must suck
 

2006 Z51 C6 Corvette 6spd test drive

So today I drove a bright red C6 coupe...unfortunately no pics as I don't have a tiny camera, just a very conspicuous SLR, so hard to sneak shots of the car. Anyways, first we went out and looked the car over. It seems to be a step above the C5 in terms of workmanship, and I have really become a fan of the looks of the C6. The trunk is surprisingly large, but an odd shape, and the cabin is roomy while still feeling sporty (I'm 6'2" and I had no trouble with leg/head room, I thought I might with the low roof-line).

The interior materials are definitely a huge improvement over the C5, but they still aren't as nice as the European or Japanese competition. The seats were pretty good, and gave a good feeling of being 'in' the seats rather than sitting 'on top' of the seats. The gear shift, while looking a little odd, is actually pretty nice feeling if you aren't looking at it. The steering wheel was a nice 3-spoker, again, nice, but nothing special. This car had the "keyless" start, which was kind of cool, but unnecessary, and probably not worth the money. The thing I liked most about the interior were the gauges, very cool! 8)

One minor gripe, what's the idea behind turning the door handle into a button? :roll: That just seems stupid to me, I didn't like pressing a button to open the door, and on top of that, the button felt cheap or like it would wear out. Not a big deal though.

On to the good part - the driving... :D

When you start this car up, it really gets a presence. The idle isn't lumpy or un-refined, but it still manages to have an awesome V8 idle sound to it...I love it. The HIDs also make the car cool & more upscale, so this car definitely looks/sounds good sitting still. Once you get rolling, you realize just how much torque this thing has. I was a little surprised with the gear box, shorter and more precise throws than I was expecting, but still a little rough around the edges. The next gripe I have is the clutch...there was something about the spring that was weird. It isn't a uniform amount of effort, its hard to explain, but it just gives the feel of wanting to pop out on you right in the friction area. It makes it a bit hard to make smooth shifts, but its no big deal.

I drove around for a bit getting used to the car, its really pretty nice for city driving for being such a low and sporty car. Well enough of that...once I finally got a stretch of open road I floored that baby, and god damn does it pull like a train! There is just so much torque, and it sounds fucking awesome! 8) I went through all of 1st and 2nd gear...man that V8 is a badass engine. :P The car has great traction, I didn't feel a hint of tire spin, and no traction control lights came on. Man, that car puts you back in the seat like it means it, I can't even imagine a C6 Z06...:twisted: My heart rate was really up there after just flooring that car. :D Even just giving it some throttle in 3rd gear and low RPMs, it just goes without hesitation, I could get used to that. :D

So, to sum it up, its definitely a good car, certainly a lot of fun to drive, and one of the best American cars out there currently.

Good Points
-Kickass V8 engine, i.e. amazing torque & flexibility, and amazing V8 sound
-improvement in overall quality from C5, including better interior
-very cool looking gauges & heads-up display
-exterior looks-they're great, a nice evolution of the C5 looks

Bad Points
-Still not the best interior (some cheap looking & possibly carbon-fiber imitation shit going on in there too)
-Fucking push-button door handles
-skip-shift (it wasn't letting me go into 2nd gear when driving leisurely, so I'm guessing that's skip-shift, fucking annoying, that's what a manual is for, to choose your gear)
-weird clutch

Just a press shot, better than nothing eh? ;)

http://img141.imagevenue.com/loc283/...tec6front1.jpg

Until next time...:P

Thankfully, that skip-shift can be bypassed.

I had similar complaints about the clutch on my Celica after getting it replaced, I think maybe it's just from being new, since it has gotten better over time.

Nice little review, I've been thinking of doing some test drives like that myself, it sounds like a lot of fun :)

pretty interesting, thanks for the review.

That's interesting, I was wondering if it was something like that...maybe after some more miles it will be more normal feeling then.

It is a lot of fun, you just have to drive a car that a dealer has a lot of so they don't care. The dealer close to me has one Vette they keep locked up in the showroom, they'd never let me touch it, but these guys had about 6 Vettes... :P

I own a C6 vette. There is a spring on the clutch that a lot of owner are removing they say there is a big improvement in the feel of the clutch. I have not done this yet but I am used to the feel of the clutch. The main thing that is great about this car to me is how it responds to mods. I had what seemed like a huge gain in power just from headers and gears. I love the car. I happen the like the door buttons and push button start. Once you are used to the fact that you never have to use keys you just carry them with you, keys seem like a PITA.

^^^Interesting, well the clutch wasn't a big deal, I'm sure I could get used to it, but it was definitely something I noticed. The push button start is ok, I'd just say, why be fancy when you can use a key? The door buttons...hahaha, just different tastes I guess.

LOL, what happened to the title of this topc?! :lol: At least spell it right! :lol: :P

Nice review, bet that engine pulls like crazy. oh and if you did'nt know, RC has decided to point out the obvious on all american car posts :wink: