C8 Vette reviews are out

"ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability" (italianjobr53)
10/15/2019 at 10:38 • Filed to: None

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Disappointing...

DISCUSSION (20)

Party-vi > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
10/15/2019 at 10:54

Anyone in that review say they would take a C8 over the C7?

nermal > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
10/15/2019 at 10:55

GM understands the target market for the base engine models - Old guys that are blowing their kid’s inheritance . Old guys that want something comfortable (check) sounds beefy (check) looks neat (check) and will accelerate fast (check).

An M2 or a Cayman for around the same price will be a bazillion times better for actually driving. The new Corvette pegs the meter for the old guys that will actually buy one though. It’s perfect for what it’s supposed to be.

For Sweden > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
10/15/2019 at 11:03

GM: sells mid-engine car with naturally-aspirated 495-horsepower V8 for under $70,000

Journos: This is good, but not great like the $350,000 Ferrari 488 Pista

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
10/15/2019 at 11:05

“rides like full-size luxury car”

“plowing understeer”

No steering feel.

And I really don’t like the front end (or rear...).

Kinja'd!!!

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > nermal
10/15/2019 at 11:13

C7 with Z51 is better than the C8Z51 is what ik disappointed about

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Party-vi
10/15/2019 at 11:13

Nope, thats what is disappointing

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > For Sweden
10/15/2019 at 11:13

C7 > C8, thats bad

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
10/15/2019 at 11:14

Better... to actually drive. Yeah, it does sound like it.

C8 better for the drags and long highway cruising...

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > For Sweden
10/15/2019 at 11:15

Not as good to drive as a C7 Z51 is the real headline.

For Sweden > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
10/15/2019 at 11:16

It read more like a case of nostalgia than a comparison

For Sweden > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
10/15/2019 at 11:16

Journalists aren’t the customer for the car

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Party-vi
10/15/2019 at 11:17

Sounds like they’re all waiting for the next car, and hoping it’s better.

First-gen EPS will do that (see 991.1, F80 M3 ).

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > For Sweden
10/15/2019 at 11:20

Oh, for sure. For 95% of buyers, this is what they want (faster off the line, more comfortable ride).

Just sucks for the 5% that actually want to drive it hard and take it to the track.

Can’t blame Chevy for catering to its base!

Snuze: Needs another Swede > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
10/15/2019 at 11:34

You know what? I’m willing to forgive them. I’m admittedly a GM fanboy, but also a huge critic because I want to see them do well and won’t ignore their faults.

And ForSweden kind of nailed it - what they are doing here is revolutionary. I get that it’s not as good to drive as the C7, but everyone has to start somewhere and make no mistake, this is a fresh start for GM. I mean aside from the smallblock V8 this is an entirely new PLATFORM. Not an upgrade, not an evolution, it’s something so completely different from the old ‘Vette that it might as well not even be called a Corvette. But GM chose to use that nameplate and carry on the legacy, all the good and bad.

So I’m willing to overlook some teething issues in the hope that they will address these things, and it sounds like most of these things can be pretty readily fixed. They took a huge chance on this car, and I for one think they deserve the time to get it 100% right.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Snuze: Needs another Swede
10/15/2019 at 12:07

That is a good take. I hope the GS will be good

Snuze: Needs another Swede > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
10/15/2019 at 12:27

Thanks.

Actually one of the big take aways for me was none of the major gripes we usually hear about Corvettes like interior quality and the fit and finish. If the most they can complain about is shiny buttons and the infotainment not accessible to the passenger (and if it was, they’d say the car didn’t feel “driver-centric”) I’ll chalk that up to a win.

Everything else is (relatively speaking) easy to fix. Grip is a matter of suspension tuning and wheels/tires. Seems like braking could be improved via tuning since it’s brake by wire. The DCT can be tweaked via software, and while it may not be as good as a Ferrari unit, for a $60k car vs. a $360k car I think it’s doing a fine job.

I think GM played it “ safe” (figuratively and literally) with this car - as I’ve said it’s new for GM and new for Corvette drivers. So what if it’s not the mystical $60k Ferrari killer we all dreamed of, it comes damn close and more importantly there’s a whole lot of room on the table for a GS, Z06, and ZR-1. I don’t think of this as a short coming, I think we all need to buckle up because shit is about to get really interesting.

Neil drives a beetle and a fancy beetle > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability
10/15/2019 at 12:35

The weight distribution makes me think that they are right about electric motors going up front eventually. 61% is a lot of weight out back for a mid engine car; wouldn’t be surprised to see some electric stuff go to the front wheels to even it out closer to 55% on the rear tires.

I suspect the second generation of this car will have some of what the reviewers above seem to be saying is missing.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Snuze: Needs another Swede
10/15/2019 at 14:45

They do not mention what tires they had on the car. Honestly, it could be a case of just shitty tires... I’m waiting for the smoking tire review now, Farah is usually particular about tires.

Saracen > Snuze: Needs another Swede
10/15/2019 at 15:10

The impression I get is that it’s the best driving Corvette ever, but just not as good as the mid-engine benchmarks from Porsche and Ferrari.

It’s a damn fine first effort though.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Saracen
10/15/2019 at 15:42

My takeaway from the review was that it didn’t drive as well as the previous gen-Corvette in terms of feel (i.e. numbness to steering, brakes, etc.), the DCT shifted slower than a lot of other DCT cars, and that from a performance standpoint it’s a lot faster but understeers horribly and braking is about the same as the C7 .

My thoughts are as follows: The steering, braking, and throttle are all electronic drive-by-wire, so a lot of that should be tunable via software. I have similar thoughts regarding the DCT, though there are physical limits to the hardware, and I suspect there is some room for improvement via software, but who’s to say how much? Horrible understeer can be cured with simple changes in tire compound and suspension tuning.

I think GM reached back in their playbook and took a look at the C8 as a grand touring car, which is what the Corvette was originally all about, not as the track weapon it’s evolved into. I think for a few reasons GM has been smart to play it this way. One, as much as the article tries to downplay it, I think there is a safety aspect. Understeer is “safer” and more predictable than oversteer, so it makes sense to build a car that way and try to not kill your customers. In Corvette’ s case this is 2 fold - I suspect lions share of the customers are Corvette loyalists who are used to driving a front engine car. Based on my experience GM already dicks over their loyal customers, but killing them outright may be too egregious even for them. The other aspect is that this is a mid-engine performance car that relatively normal people can afford, and GM is banking on attracting a younger generation of “influencers. ” Doesn’t look good killing them either. As for being a track weapon, it seems like a lot of those gripes are things people who actually track the car would change anyways. On top of that GM leaves a little something on the table to make the GS, Z06, and ZR-1 shine.