So I pick up a new 2017 C7 Z51 LT2 manual trans coupe this past Monday night. Traded my 2007 LT3 manual trans coupe (no Z51 on the 2007). Now I had read review after road test about how great the C7 is. When I bought my 2007 coupe, I road tested them both, the C6 first. The C6 was by far the best sports car I had ever driven, it was like 'where has this car been all my life'. The C7 was much newer then, and my initial impression was that while it was very nice, it felt surprisingly similar to the C6. And I was ready to dip my toe into the Corvette pool to the tune of $29K, not $60K, so I purchased the C6 and took it home.

My experience with the C6 couldn't have been much better. The car was a super cream puff with 20,500 miles when I took delivery. The dealer, Healey Brothers in New Hampton NY (Orange County, we're about 50-60 miles NW of NYC in southeastern NY, some of my neighbors commute to Manhattan for work)was great, they made it easy. I'm 59 now, the Corvette was my first American car, and it turned out to be the best car I've ever owned, I could go on and on, but I loved the car, I'm sure most of you understand. Loved it so much I decided I wanted to upgrade to a C7. Shopped used, the current new car pricing was too aggressive to pass up, took the new car home 5 days ago.

I pick it up on a cold wintery night, dry but too cold for Z51 tires, so I have to drive the car home very carefully lest I lose grip and land in the trees. I'm tired that night, the tech in the car is cool but it's a bit overwhelming, and I'm just trying to get used to a new car with new everything, feel, etc. All this week I'm contending with cold temps that limit driving, and I only have time to drive it a few miles here and it's always @ night (I work from home, we're very busy).

Then today I have a chance to drive the car 80-100 miles with a fair stretch on the highway. It's daylight. The temps rise above 40ºF so the tires have some grip. I'm getting more comfortable with the car in every way, more familiar with the electronics, etc. On the way back home in the afternoon it all sort of clicked for me and it started to really dawn on me what a leap from the C6 this car represents. The feel of the suspension, the modes that really work, a notably more powerful engine, the beautiful interior, the cool infotainment system, etc. And I was in car weenie heaven. Like if this car isn't a supercar, it's pretty friggin close.

What struck me is how easy it is to drive this car fast, both from a powertrain standpoint and handling stability. Bear in mind that I can't go above 3500-4000 rpm during break-in, but that's plenty of rope to hang yourself with in this car. It was just exhilarating today, possibly the best driving experience I've ever had.

It was topped off by how the car carved up a 1 mile stretch of rural road on the way home a couple of miles from my house. I love this as a sports car route, it's a lightly traveled back road that corkscrews up this steep little hill around some tight radius curves. I take it in 3rd gear, and I've driven it enough in the C6 to know how fast I've gone. Today near the top of the hill I glance the heads up display as I downshift into the turn and it reads 68 mph. I don't know if I ever even hit 60 on that section in the C6. What amazed me is that it was easy; that speed reading really surprised me, the car just made it so effortless and secure.

Yes I do know that's a public road, yes I will slow down. But it was cool day in the new car. A year ago I asked a C7 owner how he compared it to the C6 and without hesitation he says 'no comparison'. I didn't get it at the time, but I got it today. How GM could make a car as great as the C6 that much better - that's just amazing to me.

No buyer's remorse here. Glad I came up through the C6, even though it cost more money over that time, I feel I know more about Corvettes and the recent evolution of the car. From all the reading and research I've done I get the impression the C7 may arguably be the best production sports car in the world at the moment, and I feel the car's racetrack performance relative to everybody else including Porsche, Lambo, McLaren, Ferrari et al underscores that. Sure felt that way today.

 

in my years ive had a C4 C5 and 2 C6 "GS" and Z06 now with the new 17 Grand sport ....well i have seen them get Sooo much better !

just over 1K miles on it now.
all i want is to go to a road course, and open it up. I don't play on the street "much" (0-77" on on ramps for fun) can not wait to see it well over 100 maybe 145+ AT VIR ? with all the new aero.
Restraint is my friend . I shall persevere and wait to get it on the track!
Dominion raceway first my guess as it close!
2 mile road course (120mph easy there with the 12 GS)


My Z at 170+ was "loose" to say the least ...My 11 camaro was much more planted in the 170+ MPH range (big wing and Aero) the camaro ran 2;19 and the z 2;01 FYI subaru BRZ i was able to get 2;16.."corner speed" cant wait to see how this turns out !

when at the track running with new Zo6 cars i noticed at 150mph My C6 Z06 would start to pull on them.as the Aero would start to slow them ....sure the GS will be much slower but should still be a blast and maybe i can make some time in the corners....

OK time to stop thinking about it !
yes great car so far i will let ya know what i think after a ring its neck for 25 min lol !!!

 

^^^ I've just never driven anything remotely like these cars. I'm not a big sports car or track weenie, but I've owned a load of cars, many of them pricey brands like BMW, Lexus, MB, and in the 1980s when I was in my 20s I owned two sports cars, a Porsche 944 and a Mazda RX7, both stickshift cars. So when I was in a position two years ago to dip my toe into these waters I drove a beautiful used Corvette at the local dealer (2007 red stick LT3), and negotiated for it and bought it on the spot after an amazing test drive. Best car I ever owned by far. nothing else I ever drove came close.

Then I get in this C7, LT2 with the Z51 package and as I discover the car's capabilities over the first week I am continually stunned by the increased level of sophistication and refinement - and how that makes this new car so much easier to drive fast. And the car feels SO much more powerful. I don't know if a C7 is a world class car that can run with $300K Ferraris, but as we guitar players like to say about guitar tuning, it's close enough for rock n roll.

It's kudos to GM: I never thought I'd plunk down $60K+ for a car, particularly a car that's just a big boy toy like this sled. For an (gasp) AMERICAN car. I love it. I do think it's quite arguable that the C7 Corvette is in many respects the best production car on the planet at the moment. Many of GM's new products are very impressive.

 

OP, do yourself a favor and check out the Ron Fellow's schools. Best $1000 you'll ever spend and it REALLY starts to show you what they are capable of. An absolute must.

 

^^^ I saw the Fellows thing in the car literature. Long way to fly, but maybe I'll do it, that sounds ideal.

 

CAD, do the Ron Fellows School....it's well worth it.

 

I would love to do the Ron Fellows School, but since I have a 2014 that I just bought, the $1000 window is closed to me.

 

DAGNABBIT! I wish you hadn't posted this...

 

I'm telling you, the C6 is such a great car that even though I expected the C7 to be better, I didn't expect this level of sophistication, refinement, handling, balance, etc. The suspension is off the hook. The car feels considerably more powerful than you'd expect from the numbers. And you don't realize what you were missing in the C6 interior until you have driven a C7 for a week.

 

I was in the car business 30 years ago, I've owned like 40+ different cars, I'm very cynical. You really have to come up with something amazing to get me to drop $60K on one of these stupid pointless big boy sleds.

And so they did.