I have a 2002 C5 with 35K miles on it. The car is in great condition. My question is if I move to a 2008 or abouts with 10K to 15K miles on it, besides the low mileage, what are the benefits of moving up to a C6?

 

Drive one and see for yourself.

 

The C5 is a great car, the C6 a little better. There are too many benefits to list. My suggestion would be to buy "The Black Book" (Corvette Museum has them) and read about the differences.
Best bet would be to drive a C6. If it isn't truly better in a "seat of the pants" test then save your $$$.

 

Coupe or convertible? Automatic or manual? How do you plan to use it? Are you a performance enthusiast or just an average cruiser?

I had an 04 Coupe. Loved it, but eventually wanted a convertible. Now have a GS convertible and love it as well. But would have been equally as happy I think with an base level 08 or later convertible. The GS just happens to be in the color combo I desired.

Performance wise, the C6 will have a bit more, although for my needs the C5 had plenty. I do however enjoy having the ability to use the paddle shifters. A definite plus IMO.

Also enjoy the ability to use my iPod, which wasn't an option on the factory C5 radio with a CD player. It had no aux line input. The C6 from 2008 on has it. The Nav unit on my C6 however I could easily live without. To much of a distraction IMO.

The powered convertible top and a HUD unit were two more of my must have options. Most C5's had HUD's, but no powered tops on the convertibles.

The interior of the C6 is a bit more functional with the dual cup holders and the small storage areas in the doors. Really only good for perhaps a hand towel or sunglasses though. But every little bit helps.

Looks wise, I think I prefer the change to fixed headlights vs the pop up ones. Maybe just a bit cleaner or more modern look. But not a huge consideration. The C5 is still a great looking car!

Just my 2 cents worth. Hope it helps.

 

Yes it does help. Thank you. I want a coupe. This will be just for pleasure. The audio jack is a plus for me.

 

I have both... both are highly modded cars. I've owned my '02Z since new.

As another forum member put it well in a different thread about this... the C6 is a more refined vehicle. The interior is nicer (especially the '12+ seats), the brakes on a base C6 are the same as the C5Z (so if you have a base C5, you are getting an upgrade there), it makes more power stock, the steering is heavier (but in a good way... I think it provides more feedback to the driver). If you have an auto in your C5, and you get an '06+ C6, you will enjoy the 6-speed auto vs your 4-speed auto. If you get the adjustable suspension with magnetic ride control, you're in for a treat as well. The car is more easily planted than a C5 and tends to offer a little less NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) than the C5 when traversing less than ideal roads.

However... there are some who say the C6 is "light years" better/ahead of the C5, and they are just wrong. Maybe they had a used/ragged out C5 they bought and drove. I don't know. But my C5 is like yours (low mileage), has been impeccably maintained, and I have had so few problems with it in 13+ years of ownership, I consider issues to be miniscule...it has no rattles/squeaks, rides and drives great. It's a fantastic vehicle in every aspect that matters to me. If you put the two cars on a lift, there are lots of similarities... to the point the C6 has been referred to by a number of enthusiasts as a C5.5. That's not a slap... that means it is an improvement over a great platform to begin with.

As other posters above said... go drive one. I'm sure you can find a dealer who will let you drive a low-mileage, used C6 for a day.

 

More power, so it just goes at the slightest touch.

Don't have to worry about having a problem with the headlights opening one day.

 

Glad it helped. My C5 looked just like yours. Had the light 2 tone titanium gray and black interior. My 11 GS convertible has the same combination, with the blueish gray (vs black) top.

While the functionality of the interior might be a little better, the quality of the materials used are not improved. Still a lot of plastic. But overall the car does have a slightly improved ride I'd say. As others have said, a bit more refined. I do have the selectable ride control however, and use mostly the touring mode.

If my C5 had been a convertible, and had the radio and interior features of my GS, I'd have kept it. Everything else was fine by me. Would love to have a C7 with the rear of the GS. Think that would be awesome!

 

I Went from c5 to c6 you won't regret it, more horsepower better ride and many more

 

Use Google, its your friend. Compare

 

 

I had an 02 coupe auto and loved it. Drove a c6 Manual 6 speed and fell in love. So I sold my 02 in March and June 13th I bought a c6 2007 manual Z51 machine silver metallic 5500 miles. I LOVE IT!!! NO LOOKING BACK!!!!

 

I think the C6 seats are more comfortable than my C5 was. I'm sure that's subjective. I haven't had any issues with my 08. I think the overall build quality of the C6 is better. I didn't have any squeaks or rattles in the C5, but the C6 seems to have slightly better materials. It was like my 99 was haunted... gas gauge, tire sensors, seat. But I understand the early C5s had more issues than the later ones.

 

I agree with basically everything stated above. If your are looking to move up to a C6 like you stated , I would get a 2008 or better. There were a lot of improvements or refinements over the earlier cars. Using 2008 as the start point, LS3 430hp , steering improved,m6 shifter linkage had shorter travel, and the automatics software was improved to speed shifting when using the paddle shift. The center console was changed to a carbon fiber "look".

 

Thank you to everyone who replied. There were some really good ideas. I will try and make an appointment next month to test drive a C6.

 

I bought a 40k mile C5 that was nice, but within a month I upgraded to a 2005 C6 with the same mileage. For me I prefer the newer body lines, and the overall feel is much more refined. I spent an extra $9k to upgrade. Well worth it.

 

I have both.. Yes the Six IS better than the Five..., Still, I love the design of the Five specially the vert.

So, heck -- buy one of each......

 

I have both (recently sold my C5 Vert)

The C6 is much more refined !

Dave

 

I just upgraded from 2001 to 2013 Grand Sport and what an improvement in ride, handling, power and other features.

 

I went from an 03 Z51 convertible (low miles) to my 13 Grand Sport coupe with 4LT, MSRC and NPP and it was a big difference. Major improvements included:

• Steering wheel
• Shifter (both manuals)
• Seats
• Overall interior (even without 4LT, the C6 interior is a big step up)
• Stereo - I added aux in to my C5, but it's nice to have aux in, USB, and BT out of the box on the later C6s. Plus the 12/13 C6 2LT got upgraded speakers, which I find to be enough for my needs.
• Ride/handling (Yes, the MSRC is worth it IMO)
• Headlights - stock C5 headlights SUCK.
• Exhaust sound - I had Borlas, then Corsas on my C5, and while the NPP doesn't sound quiet as good, the ability to switch between open/closed is HUGE (especially if you have a wife/girlfriend). Plus the NPPs open are much more livable in the car versus a lot of exhausts on a C5 coupe (had an 01Z previously)).
• Power - 436HP vs 350HP (although my GS was actually closer to 470HP bone stock)
• More potential - I bought the GS with the plans of supercharging it. The LS3 C6 is a much better platform for making power with a blower than the C5. Not that you can't do it in a C5, but you're going to have to upgrade lots of other things besides just slapping a blower on it.

I still think the C5 is a great car, especially the C5Z, but for a regular use (daily driver or weekend cruiser), it's no contest between the C5 and C6. You could make a C5 as nice as a C6 (or even nicer, got several friends who have), but it's going to end up being more expensive than just getting a C6. Now if I was looking for a road course track car, I'd definitely consider a C5Z due to cost, but even there the C6Zs are starting to become much more affordable (just have to fix the heads).