I have a "91" C4 with 31k miles. A couple of weeks ago I got a touch of C5 fever and bought a "99" C5 with 8K miles. I'm telling you the milage so that you will assume nothing's broken. Anyway, for those of you who are thinking about the day that you will make this jump and it's a big one ($15,500 to $30,000) don't be so impatient. In the same day I had occasion to take a 75 mile spin in each car. It was then I realized that the C4 is a great car. The C5 has all the "roundiness" that most new cars have, but other than feeling like you're sitting lower to the asphault, it has the feel the car might just be doing the driving. Driving the C4 gives me as much if not more pleasure than the C5. The C5 has a very civil ride, the C4, a more involved driving experience. I think we drive to be involved, not just to get from point "A" to point "B". Yes, the C5 is a better car, but not for everybody.

 

Having driven both, I agree the C5 is nice but it's just not for me. Now a ZO6 I might consider someday but only as an addition, certainly not as a replacement for my '95.

 

C4 forever ......or until I can afford a C6!!

 

Thanks for sharing your observations. My C4 is the only Vette I've ever driven and I know what you are saying about driving the car. I love the experience. The C5s look cool and I'm tempted just because they are newer. I've even looked at the new C6s but decided to wait a little longer. However, when I saw a new 2006 Z06 cruise by me on Friday night the whole plan evaporated. Damn they look sweet.

 

You bought a 99 C5 for 30K?

Are you mad?

Uncle's dealership has 05's selling for 37K.. BRAND NEW.

Guess i'm the only one who starts at Trade in and works there way up.

 

Say uncle! The one I bought has 8000 miles and I actually paid 29K. Find me an "05 with 0 miles for 37K and I'll show you a financially impaired car salesman. !

 

I was at a car show this morning and drooled over a black/grey C6 Z06... Awesome car for sure, just too rich for my blood. Its kinda fun showing up in a clean C4, you just dont see very many these days and people appreciate them when you have it out.

 

I just spoke with him and i am mistaken. The lowest 05 leftover he has is 40K. Black/Ebony, 1SB, and Transparent roof. Sticker is 49K.

He has 3 leftover 05's in the range of 42K-44K. The 44K has Nav and polished wheels.

Let me know if anyone wants the number. He's discounting 06's just not as much as the leftover 05's.

 

I have driven my beautiful C4 '88 4+3 CPE Blk/Blk(Black makes it go faster), my fathers C5 '01 6spd vert(Also Black), and of course conned many of salesmen into letting me drive several C6 6spd vert and coupe(BLack as well just so we can have a fair trial). C6 is great lots of new toys but not enough buttons, I like flying planes, I like to feel like I'm flying an F/A-18 when I'm driving, not a f*king Kia spectra. Car is fast and has kick but, it feels like my C4 had the same kick in the fist four gears, same issue with the C5. I fully understand that a C5 and better yet a C6 could out run my car, but I agree with later post, the C4 is just more fun to drive. Corners well, sounds good (with the right exhaust), and working on the car is as easy as picking up chicks in my black beauty (which means sometimes it's a real SOB). C4 looks better in my mind, wish I had a ZR-1 but I'm perfectly happy with my 16 valves.

 

Saturday I drove my C6 and Sunday I drove my C4.
I have to say the C4 put a smile on my face and more 'pleasure' than the C6.

The C6 has 400 horses and cost 50Gs.
The performance is outstanding.
I love it, but in a more 'serious' way.

I know that doesn't make any sense.

 

Where?

 

*sigh* I guess i'll never be able to get rid of my C4 then heh.
I sat in my buddy's C5 over the weekend and was thinking how nice it would be to have a "newer" car. I too like all the "roundiness" they have adn all the new stuff, fewer parts, new technology, etc. I couldn't care less about the HP gains, but I just wan't the newness they have.

 

The newness isn't all that great, the seats are less comfortable, the leather is thinner and tears more easily. Some of the console pieces snap into place and therefore can snap out of place. There is a fuse panel on teh passenger side floor which if you develop a leak or otherwise get that area wet, you can fry some electronics.
It's harder to get in and out of due to the lower height.

What I do like is the memory function, the extra room inside and the gauges.

 

There are not too many '05s with zero miles anymore.
If there are, they are A4s, undesireable now that the 2006 came out with A6.
Still, an 05' A4 @ 37K must be a stripper whose original sticker price was 44K.

 

There can be no sane argument that the performance capability of the non-Z06 C5 is superior to that of a stock LT1 C4. But the difference is incremental -- it's not huge. And the difference between your '91 L98 C4 and an LT1 C4 is likewise incremental.

Yes, the C5 is, in many respects a more liveable car for many people. Easier ingress/egress owing to the absence of the high C4 frame rails, far more storage space in the 'verts, etc, etc...

But, especially in terms of bang/$, you simply can't beat the C4 Corvette. I love my C4, and have no desire to "trade up" for a C5. My C4 will lose in a heads-up drag race to a stock non-Z06 C5, but only by a little bit, and I don't drag race it anyway.

When I'm out cruising with the club, I have absolutely no trouble keeping up with the C5s in any real-world scenario on a public highway. They may pull away from me by a car length or two at WOT, but they surely can't leave me in the dust or embarrass me.

My LT1 is plenty fast enough for any situation on a public road, and it corners like it's on rails. I love the cockpit feeling I get in the driver's seat. I think the instrumentation is superb with the analog gauges on the late-C4s (I don't care for the Star Wars digi-dashes of the early C4s, but that's a personal preference). I love the way the hideaways spin 180* to open/close. I love the clamshell hood.

The C5 looks great from the front, but I very much prefer the rear-end styling of all C4s, especially the late-C4s, over that of the C5s. From the windshield to the rear bumper, the C5 styling just doesn't appeal to me. I don't like the stock wheels that came on any C4, but that was easily solved by the addition of chromed Y2K thinspokes on mine.

Really, the C5 and C4 are just very different animals. Both great in their own way, but very different. All Corvettes are cool. It's really a matter of personal preferences, and how much $ you care to (or are able to) drop on a toy car.

Personally, I like the C4 and the C6 much better than the C5. And, it's now gotten to where my C4 often gets more looks and "thumbs-ups" than the C5s do when I'm out cruising with the club -- no doubt in part because our club cruises are typically almost all made up of C5s these days. The C4 stands out in that crowd nowadays because I'm usually either the only C4 in the group, or one of two or three at most.

A lot of C4 owners have moved into C5s these days, and most are quite happy with the change. I don't expect to be joining them. My idea of "trading up" to a different Corvette is to buy a C1 or C2.

What's great is that there are plenty of Corvettes out there for all of us to choose from. Something for everyone. Life is good.

Be well,

SJW

 

I got hooked on the Idea of finally owning a Vette when I went with my buddy looking at C5's. I started looking at C4's that were also sitting in those lots. Well I bought a real nice 96 LT4 just a couple of days before I helped my buddy drive his C5 to it's new home here in San Antonio all the way from Detroit. I got a lot of seat time both driving and riding in the C5. Yes it's a real nice car and goes like nothing else I've ever been in. But, I like the feel of my C4 better... It just seems to fit me better. The C5 is more powerful, handles great,roomy, gets better mileage and all that stuff you would expect of a newer model, but by comparison it seems almost too removed from the thrill of holding a tiger by the tail. Yes it gets your attention when you step into the throttle, but except for that, It's almost like driving a 350 HP Accord.

 

c4 with an ls2 for me, but for now my c4 will do just fine.

 

all the generations have their own and different attributes
which one is better depends on a persons taste
i prefer c4's cause of the feel of the car when i drive it
i have driven different year vettes
and the c4's feel like a cacoon or like the car is fitting you like a glove
take a c5 it dont feel that much different then my z71
there is more feed back in the c4 (at least in mine)
IE heaver stearing
thats my preference

as for the c5's having more power then my c4
i will line up against one any day including a z06

 

I love my C4. I even got two compliments last Friday from some co-workers.

 

Only difference is on Saturday I drove the C4 and Sunday I drove the C6. Totally different vehicles.

They are just like children though, love em both equally. With the C4 you have to be a bit more involved and she takes some attention and TLC. With the C6, you just have to keep a close eye on her and don't be complacent otherwise she'll run away with you.