formulaWA

Hope this isn't a repost but didn't see it.

C/R appeared to like the 2015 corvette 3lt Z51 scored 92 in their review

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...t/corvette.htm

Dooce

You have to a subscriber to see this.

fizzman

overall it's a very balanced review. giving it a 92 rating where the top rating is 98 is pretty good for an american car. for folks who aren't subscribers,I've pasted the text:

Road Testhatchback 3LT V8 MT
Long known for its panache and sheer brute force, the Corvette has been reborn for 2014 as a lighter, tighter, high-tech sports car. Previous Vettes delivered quick acceleration, but handling wasn't up to that of the Porsche 911 and other European thoroughbreds. The new Corvette has narrowed the gap, with quick reflexes, flat cornering, and less of the nose-heavy sensation of older models. Moreover, gone is the cheap interior of past Vettes, replaced with higher-quality materials and a more refined feel. The new Corvette -- in coupe or convertible body styles -- is a bargain among high-performance cars, delivering ferocious acceleration, precise handling, and excellent braking for thousands of dollars less than competitors such as the 911 and Jaguar F-Type. And the driving experience can be fairly refined or wild, depending on your mood.

Punching the throttle is an eye-opener. The direct-injected 460-hp, 6.2-liter V8 helped it post a blistering 0-to-60-mph acceleration time of 4.3 seconds. From a start, our Stingray shoots forward with seemingly boundless torque and a throaty bark.

Despite its more responsive handling, this is still a wide car that's ultimately more about power than grace; the best place to explore its full potential is on a track. With the driving-mode selector in "Touring," the Vette is a relatively refined cruiser. Ride comfort is tolerable, the steering is light enough for effortless parking, and the restrained exhaust sound lets you tool around without alienating the neighbors.

Dial the selector to "Track" and the steering tightens, the exhaust bellows more intensely, the engine steps up with rev-matching for downshifts, and the stability control loosens its grip, allowing some sideways sliding while still keeping the car on its path. Stability control can be completely switched off, but if you do so you'd better keep your wits about you and have your insurance paid up; going solo without electronic aids can bite you with this car.

"Sport" is an in-between mode that we found suitable for everyday driving.

Braking performance is superb, with the car stopping from 60 mph in a mere 107 feet.

A major improvement in the redesign is the upgraded interior quality. You're treated to comfortable, supportive, and well-tailored seats. The MyLink touch-screen infotainment system lets you access the audio, phone, and navigation functions through simple controls. An optional head-up display can keep you abreast of vitals, such as engine rpm and the gear you're in. And, yes, the instrument panel can display the posted speed limit for the road you're driving on.

The easy-opening rear hatch reveals a modest cargo area that's sufficient for golf clubs or groceries. It's also simple to remove and store the roof panel for some open-air driving.

The Corvette's thrills come with a price, however. The shifter for the seven-speed manual transmission feels somewhat vague, and the clutch is heavy. When loafing along, you're forced into first-to-fourth gear shifts for fuel economy, which is annoying.

Near-acrobatic skills are required to get in and out of the low cabin. Visibility is lousy, especially when parking, although the standard backup camera helps. And on a long haul, the noise reverberating in the cargo area becomes exhausting.

Gripes aside, this is clearly the best Corvette ever, with a satisfying driving experience and an improved cabin.

Changes for 2015 include a standard built-in Wi-Fi hotspot -- with three month's of complimentary data. Also, the automatic transmission is upgraded from six- to eight-speeds. Also new is the line-topping Z06, which get a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 cranking out 650 hp.
Why buy one:

Iconic home-grown sports car
Thrilling acceleration
Thrilling engine and exhaust soundtrack
Thrilling levels of handling grip
Looks fantastic
It's not stuck with a Cavalier-grade interior anymore
Exercising some restraint with choosing options gets you an amazing amount of performance for the money
A long list of options lets you customize the car to your liking

Why not buy one:
It's a very wide car, which limits agility
Low stance literally makes access a pain
Hard riding
Not easy to see out of
When you're not listening to the exhaust note, you'll grow weary of the loud cabin noise from the rear hatch
Less restraint with options could result in a Corvette with a rather steep price tag

Viable alternatives:
Porsche 911
Jaguar F-Type
Maserati Gran Turismo
Mercedes-Benz SL

Best version/options to get: Any Corvette will deliver plenty of performance. If you have any high-performance-driving intentions, go for the Z51 package, with its larger wheels and tires, more capable brakes, and other upgrades. If not, get the automatic transmission to use it as an enjoyable, attention-getting cruiser.

Note that most Corvettes ordered by dealers are likely to have plenty of options. Disciplined custom-ordering can get you a lot of performance for the dollar.

Then again, for most buyers, the Corvette is a treat, so you may want to splurge. If so, there are plenty of luxury and appearance features to fit your whims and fancies, and some play into the car's unique culture and heritage. For example, $590 lets you override any interior/exterior color combination limitations, making your one-of-a-kind Corvette especially collectable in 40 years -- or completely unsellable. $990 lets you take delivery of the Corvette at the National Corvette Museum across the street from the factory.

The Driving Experience
Handling: The new car is nimbler than any previous generation Corvette. It corners with virtually no body roll and feels poised and pinpoint. Turn-in response is very prompt and the steering is well weighted. That said, there is a bit of vagueness around the center especially when driving through "ess" turns with repeated steering reversals. And, there's no escaping how wide this car is, which takes away from the feeling of being able to thread it through tight corners on narrow country lanes.

On the track the C7 proved to be much more composed than the C6, with more balanced handling and more approachable limits. The stability control is not overly intrusive -- in Track mode it allows some play yet still throws a security blanket for you. There is a ton of grip, hardly any understeer and a natural built-in adjustability of the cornering line. But if provoked, with an untimely application of the gas pedal, the C7 can begin a tail slide that can bite the inexperienced.

The car posted a high speed of 57.5 in our avoidance maneuver and instilled confidence. But if you were a bit unsmooth with your steering input, the car could get a bit unwieldy before the stability control kicks in.

The Corvette comes with summer ultra-high-performance tires. They give it amazing grip but aren't suited to cold weather; grip is poor unless the tires are warm enough. (A display in the instrument cluster lets you know the tires' temperature status.) Not many Corvette drivers are likely to use this as a winter car, but if you do, you will need appropriate winter tires.

Powertrain: Acceleration is no problem at all, and that's an understatement. There's a geyser of power, just waiting for a willing participant. As one of us wrote, "on a scale of one to five, power is a 17." We clocked the C7 at 4.3 seconds in the 0-60 mph dash -- among the fastest cars we've ever tested. Running the Corvette up through the gears sounds fabulous with a delightful howl as the engine gets some exercise.

Ascending to freeway speeds is a snap; at that point you might as well just shift from fourth straight to seventh gear and cruise. Basically any gear works at any time with this engine. In that vein, seven gears seems to be a few too many, necessary for bragging rights but not for driving enjoyment.

At times, it's a bit much to row the seven-speed as it's not the slickest shifter in the shed. Sometimes it can be tricky to figure out into which shift gate you're muscling the lever; a gear display in the instrument panel helps. Clutch effort is rather high, making it a bit touchy to maneuver smoothly and a lot tiresome in heavy traffic.

Unfortunately, a mechanism that forces you to shift from first gear into fourth remains from earlier versions. It's there to save fuel in EPA fuel economy tests, but in the real world, it's more of a pest. Most of us sidestepped this by revving through first gear a bit longer, enjoying the tailpipe concerto. Another trick: start in second gear. After all, there's no shortage of torque here. While this engine can lug around, it really doesn't sound happy doing it.

The sixth and seventh top gears are meant for relaxed and more-efficient highway cruising so there isn't much throttle response; getting a punch of acceleration means you'd have to drop a cog or two. A rev-matching feature works well; you activate it by pulling one of the shift toggles behind the steering wheel. An eight-speed automatic is optional on Stingray models; it uses the same paddles for manual shifting.

At 20 mpg on premium fuel, gas mileage is not too bad considering the fierce acceleration and the abundance of torque on tap.

We think the Stingray has plenty of power. But nothing succeeds quite like excess, and for those buyers, there's the Corvette Z06. Its supercharged 6.2-liter V8 generates 650 horsepower. This engine is mated to a seven-speed manual or eight-speed automatic.

Ride comfort: The Stingray has several modes -- Tour, Sport, Track -- that alter the ride through the twist of a console-mounted ****. We officially evaluated ride comfort in Tour mode, a setting that makes it tolerable. But even so, it is stiff and can toss you about at times. Although there is a token of isolation in the suspension, rough roads make the car transmit stiff rubbery jiggle. Even on the highway where it gets slightly better, the ride can grow tiresome.

Noise: Yes, there is a lot going on but mostly in a good way with the 6.2-liter V8's muscular growl and deep tone exhaust burble just a throttle touch away. Driven more sanely, the engine quiets down to a drone, which might become an irritant to some. Wind noise seeps in despite the Vette's sleek lines. Staggered sized UHP run-flat tires do their share in keeping the cabin noisy with plenty of rumble and impact boom reverberating from the rear. The Porsche 911 Carrera S is modestly quieter but likely an unfair comparison with the stark differences in personality between these two cars.

Braking: Just like the rival Porsche 911, the Corvette knocked one out of the park with another record-breaking performance. Stopping distances were nearly identical to the 911's. The brake pedal was precise and very easy to modulate.

Headlights: Standard high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps provide good levels of forward and sideward visibility with both low and high beams. The HIDs also provide a very bright and pleasingly uniform light.


Inside The Cabin
Interior fit and finish: Chevrolet's expensive flagship has never enjoyed interior quality to match its price -- until now. The 2014 redesign finally brought cabin finish into the big leagues. Sure, it still doesn't quite match the interior quality of a Porsche 911, but it also costs a fraction of the price.

Our super-loaded top-trim 3LT test car had lots of options that enhanced interior material quality. Going with the 3LT trim gets you leather-wrapped console, dashboard, and door panels. These look great, but be careful of damage from scuffing. $995 brings a sueded microfiber headliner and $395 includes seat inserts with the same material. Throw in standard quality low-pile carpet and $995 for real carbon fiber dashboard trim and the results are impressive.

However, there are some details that need attention. Wide gaps surround some dashboard panels and the door latch button surround felt loose on the door panel.

Driving position: You wear the Corvette, sitting low in a snug bucket seat, surrounded by a wrap-around dashboard. There's just enough room in the narrow cockpit; luckily the side of the console is padded, because your knee is likely to rub against it. The previous Corvette (C6) felt more spacious.

Pedals, steering wheel, and shifter all fall right into place for enthusiastic driving. The small diameter steering wheel's thick rim feels good in hand, purposeful and direct. Drivers applauded the wide adjustment range for reaching the tilt-and-telescope steering wheel but some felt the left foot rest is just a bit too close.

Visibility: One benefit of driving a Corvette is that you're easily seen by others, admiring the car. Seeing out is another story. It's quite hard.

Plunked down low in the driver's seat, you peer out over a high and long hood that seems to go on forever. Side windows are short, the rear roof pillars are thick, and a very high rear deck limits your view out of the rear window glass. You can usually see traffic that's right behind you, good for seeing the cop car that's following you, but a rear wiper would be appreciated.

Looking over your shoulder to merge toward the left is difficult, blocked by the roof pillar. Blind spot monitoring would be helpful but none is offered.

Good thing a rear-view camera is standard; it works well for parking even though part of its image is consumed by showing the car's license plate. Reversing at night is tricky, even with the camera. Be careful.

Seat comfort: A long-standing complaint about Corvettes is that the seats never lived up to the car's performance potential or its price tag. That problem is finally fixed.

Our tested 3LT had the Grand Touring Seat. It's well-shaped for performance duty with large side backrest bolsters, holding you in place in the corners. Cushioning is firm and supportive. Power adjustments are standard. Shoulder wing bolsters can be a touch intrusive, even for average-width men.

Optional is a more aggressively bolstered Competition Sport seat intended for Corvettes that will see plenty of track time. If you opt for these seats, we strongly encourage you to try them before buying. They might be too intense for just cruising around, or if you're not particularly thin.

Access: Getting in and out of the Corvette is a literal low point of the car. Just look at it. There's no surprise that you're going to have to bend down low and lift yourself out over the wide door sill of this super-low-slung car.

But there is a menacing surprise lurking for the unwary. A hard corner of the dashboard protrudes right in the path of your knee, a painful lesson. Long doors are tough to open in tight parking lots and you need to watch out for the frameless window glass. Another frustration: the interior door release is a tiny push button next to your knee rather than a big high-mounted lever.

Gauges: Excellently designed gauges communicate both the car's vitals and a sense of excitement. Big and clear analog gauges show speed, fuel, and temperature. They flank a large crisp full-color digital screen with a large in-your-face tachometer display.

Inset within that dial is a digital speedometer readout -- good because the analog speedometer can get blocked by your hand on the wheel rim -- as well as a configurable display. That screen shows fuel economy, trip information, performance data, audio settings, phone contacts, navigation directions, and vehicle settings -- just not all at once.

It's pretty easy to use the steering wheel to select the information that you want, despite it being very full-featured. Need to know the total lifetime revs of your engine, or measure a 0-60 mph time, or determine if the tire temperature is hot or cold? It's all in there somewhere.

3LT models include a head-up display that projects speed, rpm, navigation directions, and gear selection ahead of the car. It looks like it floats over the hood. This is helpful to keep your speed in check, as well as the display on the navigation screen of the current speed limit.

Controls: Wrapping around the driver, the purposeful dashboard places controls in easy reach. Nothing is overly-complicated to use either, refreshing in a fully-featured luxury sports car.

Well-designed climate controls have large and clearly-labeled buttons. Temperature ***** display the selected setting within the dial center, a nice touch given that many contemporary cars hide that info.

Audio controls use a large and easy-to-read touch screen along with good old-fashioned volume and tune *****. Navigating the screen is easy thanks to simple logic.

Electronic connectivity

Initial impressions: Our Corvette has fairly straightforward and relatively easy to use systems. However, one feature we've really grown to like is seeing the state of charge and signal strength of a paired phone. Unfortunately, playing the radio or using the nav screen removes this handy notification.

Otherwise, most testers found that they could navigate the various infotainment choices with little or no stress. And, as with every car, we strongly encourage you to master and practice the features of your car's infotainment system while parked in a secure place. Do not attempt to learn all this stuff on the fly. We didn't.

Music: The Corvette comes standard with Bluetooth streaming audio as well as three months of free XM satellite radio. Hooking up your Android-type phone to the system also gives you a pathway to Pandora -- and it knows your favorite stations. You can also give "thumbs-up" to songs, although the target on the screen is pretty small. Users with iPhones need to tether their device via USB to use Pandora. We often find the "HD" radio feature a pain to live with -- the stations in our neck of the woods constantly jump in and out of HD. Thankfully, it's pretty easy to go into the "audio" page and turn this feature off. It's also easy to access playlists from your phone. We really liked the sound quality of the optional 10-speaker Bose audio system, which could handle lots of volume with little distortion.

Voice command: Hitting the voice command button on the steering wheel and simply saying "Tune radio to channel 100" worked. However, this GM system is not like speaking into your Galaxy or iPhone. While Siri has an answer for you when you say "Find me a Starbucks," the GM system (like most in-car nav systems) doesn't recognize that command. So we broadened the request and said "Find me a coffee shop." What did it produce? The system offered to tune the radio to XM channel 32 -- "The Coffee House." Not what we wanted. So we backtracked and started with saying "navigation" and then "poi" (standing for "points of interest"). Then we said "coffee," which produced a list of coffee spots nearby.

Phone: Using the voice command button and saying the words "pair phone" starts the process -- which is very easy with the on-screen instructions.

Navigation: The system is not all that complicated, made all the easier with its touch screen. Traffic updates with rerouting options is available. Another handy feature is the "weather" display which shows a Doppler map and forecast information.

Electronic amenities: The Corvette comes with an SD card slot, auxiliary outlet and two USB ports inside the covered bin. There's also another USB inside the "stealth" cave (see below).

Power sources: You get one 12-volt outlet under a pop-up cover near the shifter as well as one inside the covered bin.

Other: OnStar equipped vehicles come with six months of free turn-by-turn navigation, automatic crash response, stolen vehicle assistance, and roadside assistance. You can also get the OnStar RemoteLink app which allows you to send driving directions to the car's navigation system, lock or unlock the doors, and remotely start or turn off the car.

Climate features: Dual-zone automatic climate control is standard on all Corvettes. We got the 3LT package on ours, which includes heated mirrors, and heated and vented seats. Many testers complained that the "auto" setting produced a lot of cold air on mornings that required heat. Even increasing the temperature setting gave little relief. For lots of reasons, a cold-weather driver this Corvette is not.

Cabin storage: Well, at least there's a fair amount of room behind the seats. Other than that, your storage options are limited to shallow, hard-to-reach pockets in the doors and a small covered bin between the seats. The coolest storage spot, however, is the "stealth" cave that's behind the infotainment touch screen. There's a USB port there for charging electronics. But don't put anything in there that's prone to melt -- like a Milky Way.

Cup holders: You get two cup holder in between the seats. The dedicated space for these holders also has a removable part that converts it to a small open bin if cups of Starbucks (or other liquids) are banned from your Corvette.

Cargo area: It's a Corvette, so you should expect that the cargo area is shallow and comes with a high lift over. At least it's wide; you can even fit two large upright suitcases and a duffle bag. The cargo area is also set up to store the removable one-piece roof panel. When the panel stored in back, you still get some room under the panel for small soft items. Small valuables can be hidden under the trunk floor in eth provided bin. Accessories include a 12-volt power socket, a cargo net and fabric security panels.

The keyless entry transmitter has a trunk release button, which is sensibly disabled when the ignition is on. There is also an interior push button release on the left dash and an exterior small push button in the license plate area. Load capacity is 525 pounds.

Spare tire: The Corvette is fitted with run-flat tires, so it has no spare.


Safety Notes
Safety belts: Both seatbelts are equipped with pretensioners.

Air bags: Front and side air bags are standard.

Head restraints: Integral head restraints are tall enough to help reduce head travel and whiplash injuries.

Crash-avoidance systems: There aren't any advanced active crash avoidance safety systems available for this car. But the Corvette has great braking power and a standard traction control system. Move up to the Z51 and you'll get the Magnetic Selective Ride Control and Performance Traction.

Driving with kids: An occupant sensing system for the passenger seat is designed to automatically turn off both the front and side air bags for that seat if it detects that an infant or small child is seated there.


Reliability
We expect reliability to be average, according to our latest subscriber survey.

Tested model: 2014 3LT 2-door hatchback, 6.2-liter V8, 7-speed manual
Major options: Z51 performance package, dual roof package, chrome aluminium wheels, magnetic ride control, multi-mode performance exhaust.
This road test applies to the current model year of this vehicle

-CM-

Certainly one of the most thorough reviews we've seen. Thanks for posting it.

I don't understand the comment about it being a "wide car, which limits agility." I don't find it lacking agility at all.

peter pan

For Consumer Reports that is a great review

f152tall

"Another frustration: the interior door release is a tiny push button next to your knee rather than a big high-mounted lever."

I wish there were crank windows too...

Steve Garrett

Thanks for posting the entire review, Fizz.

OnPoint

Rough ride? Heavy clutch? On on a scale of 1 to 5 acceleration is a 17?

Author has wasted too many days of his/her life in Camrys and Accords.

Vetteman Jack

After reading that review, I think CR did a pretty decent job of being objective and informative.

Walt White Coupe

Thanks for posting this review. CR auto reviews have been unjustifiably criticised over and over again by people on this forum. Sounds like a fair and informative review to me.

RedC7AZ

I wonder how much of that review they stole from car magazines and online reviews.

Walt White Coupe

Sure.

umatac1

Thanks for the posting, great review. I can't wait for mine!

NavyBlue2

Reviewer really stressed: "It's a very wide car, which limits agility..."

So how much wider is it from the C6, C5 & other cars?

& how does it limits agility when they rave about how well it handles...?

runutzzzzz

I don't understand the wide stance part either...

But I think this is funny:

If you have any high-performance-driving intentions, go for the Z51 package, with its larger wheels and tires, more capable brakes, and other upgrades.
If not, get the automatic transmission to use it as an enjoyable, attention-getting cruiser.

Basically saying people that get the automatic are wusses.

427Z0SX

Oh oh, an endorsement by CR about a performance car is never good. Corvette will lose some street cred due to this.

noel48

My car cannot sense the speed limits.

F4 Phantom

Thanks for posting this long review. You'd think they could crack better than 4.3 seconds for 0-60.

JackTripper

Right on.

RedC7AZ

"Sure" - you are wondering too or "Sure" - I said something you happen to think is ridiculous?