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...
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.
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...
My heart rate was really up there after just flooring that car.
Even just giving it some throttle in 3rd gear and low RPMs, it just
goes without hesitation, I could get used to that.
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?
Until next time...