patentcad

I've noticed a phenomena over the last 20 years I thought I'd start a discussion about. A new Corvette debuts - for example the C6 back in 2005. The write-ups on the car in the first year or two universally praise the upgrade to the Corvette's previously cheesy interior - better materials, design, looks more upscale, compares better with Porsche, yada yada. And this attitude lasts until like year 3 or 4 of the current generation, and then you start reading about how disappointing the car's interior seems compared to Porsche (let's face it, it's ALWAYS 'compared to Porsche').

Now first off, that's a stiff comparison; in my view NOBODY makes a higher quality mass production automobile in the world - not MB, not BMW, not Lexus, not Ferrari - than Porsche. You have to hand them that, the cars are exquisite, particularly for such a high volume car. So they are the gold standard here.

So moving to the C7 (the car I own) the initial reviews were even more enthusiastic - GM has closed the gap, best Corvette interior ever etc. But now 5 years since the car hit the streets I start reading some reviews (much fewer than ever before admittedly) disparaging the C7 interior vs. the Porsche. So I'm sitting in my Corvette last night and I'm thinking 'you know I suppose GM could have made this interior nicer, but not THAT much nicer' - I mean it still feels and looks about 80% as good as a 911 interior. Which is fine with me, that's pretty damn nice.

I never thought the C6 interior was cheesy in the first place really, but this stuff is subjective, and I can understand some people disparaging that car for this issue. But the C7? I don't see it, I think GM got it right and checked all the boxes Corvette fans wanted checked.

patentcad

Part of me thinks some automotive journalists don't think they'll be taken seriously if they can't find something to trash on every car they review : ).

Kevin A Jones

I agree, the C7 has a very functional, well-equipped, user-friendly, and good looking interior for a sportscar in it's price range and beyond. I feel this holds true at all (3) LT/LZ interior levels.

I believe this is often true of journalism in general as if journalist just sticks with the status quo it's difficult to distinguish themselves from the pack.

fsvoboda

There may be something to this. Years ago when a new Chrysler Sebring was introduced a journalist decided it was the worst new car ever, and a number of others followed suit. Of course, it was a perfectly adequate car although no Porsche. A decade later one of my sons is still driving one of these with about 95,000 miles and having required only two minor repairs. "Pretty Nice Car" just isn't as catchy a headline.

Also, there's a kind of cycle to journalistic reports: you see the same essential story again and again, just with different specifics. This happens on a sort of a cycle. Yearly we get Groundhog Day reports from Pennsylvania, for example. Journalists need to have copy, so it's not surprising that they should come back to the same topics again and again. If people read "Bad Interior" stories with the C6, why wouldn't they also do so with C7?

cowboy casey

I did not buy a C6 just because of the 1980 interior, I just could never get over it...

The C7 is a very good interior but not great, it is about the same quality as my previous 2012 VW CC.

I think we can all agree we bought a Vette because of the Performance

Billy346

AORoads

If you watch MotorWeek regularly, they give what I'd call a very nuanced (meaning, carefully worded) opinion. Unlike other automotive, alleged, "journalists" Motor Week DOES talk about the cheesy, and the well-done, or better or worse materials used in the interior. Not to mention the comfort or "feel" of those materials. Plus, unlike many auto "journalists" (you might be surprised to read the qualifications to be an auto "journalist"), MW actually keeps some of the cars/vans/suv's for a full year and let the staff drive them---everywhere including cross country with the family. It is enlightening.

What they don't say is, this is crap, or this is sh- t, but they might make a comparison or two. Porsche, however, is not used as the standard by which all are measured against. It can be just about anything as far as interiors are concerned.

Altho they do pull their punches so as not to be too offensive, if you listen/watch long enough, you get what they are meaning and intend for you to understand. It's far more info and better than reading the auto bloggers, auto "journalists" and the older, conventional auto mags that are just trying to be something they never were: fair and knowledgeable.

Vette_Pilot

Well it might be a while before I can pull the trigger, but I would get a used C7 with the 2LT option. That interior will work for me!

dvilin

There is always something out there with a higher standard or better designed interior whether it be a Porsche or some other make. When it comes to the Vett some times good is good enough.

LT1 Z51

Porsche has tons of "customizable" options.

You can get the entire interior swathed in leather, carbon fiber, aluminum, or colored trim. These options can be mixed and matched as well.

Porsche rightly so equips media cars with a lot of these options (and then the automotive press says they don't need them when they talk about price.) however when they rate the interior, all those "extras" are included.

GM doesn't offer an "Individual" option like Porsche or BMW do which is why it gets dinged by the press. GM could do it, but I think the take rates would be so low it's probably not worth it.

FYI, I own a 3LT and I had a 4LT C6, so I'm one who typically loves more stuff in the interior.

Always Red Dave

The interior on the C7 1LT,2LT,3LT is gorgeous !

ColoradoGS

I think this is a combination of things. In my experience the automotive press (as a general rule) is more favorable to newer things and expensive things. This goes far beyond interior quality rankings.

When the C7 Grand Sport was first released, Motor Trend did a head to head vs a 911. The Grand Sport won the comparison (by a hair, but still). The reviewers couldn't say enough positive things about the way the GS handled and how fun it was to drive. The key takeaway was the balance between the horsepower and the handling characteristics. A year later they did a ultimate drivers car competition and the GS came in 7th. Why so low? Now they said it was underpowered compared to the competition. What changed? Only time. Instead of being shiny and new it was last year's Vette and therefore boring.

It also matters how much the car costs and how exclusive it is. When they tested the Z06, the described driving it as a white-knuckle experience. They didn't like how easy it was to make the back-end come around, on the power or off. While it set lap times that bested cars 2x, 3x, 10x its cost they still didn't like how much effort it took to get those times. Then they test a Lamborghini Huracan. It behaved the same way--it was really easy to get it sideways on the track. They shrugged it off and loved it anyway. Why? Because it was a nuclear green Lambo with a redline of 8500 that screamed like a banshee. It gets a pass because being in one fulfills a dream of "I'm in a Lamborghini! And it costs more than a house!"

I think it is just general human nature. Comparing a 911 to a C7 in terms of anything isn't really a fair comparison. The options on a 911 can cost more than the C7 base price so I would hope the interior quality is better. But making comparisons is what they are paid to do and it is boring if opinions don't change.

99999

Corvette is almost a victim of its own success. It performs so well that it can only be compared performance-wise to cars in a completely different price range targeting a typically different buyer. And its unfair to compare the "quality" aspects of a vehicle to one that is double its price, up to a certain point anyway. However, the Corvette is sort of peerless in its price range for what it is too, so hard to find an appropriate comparison vehicle for it. Maybe the Z4, i guess, but still different animals.

ersatz928

The Corvette fit and finish, and material quality gets better every generation, but GM always drops the ball on the last 10%.....perfect example on the C7 are the rotary climate control *****...they feel like PlaySkool designed them compared to the precision ****-feel of a Porsche or Audi...or even a $25K VW.

99999

Corgidog1

The C7 was a huge improvement over the previous generations, but the overall build is not as tight as a Porsche. For example the thing that gets me is when you put your hand on the door's window opening with the window down-your thumb on the outside of the door and your fingers on the inside of the door and squeeze there is way too much movement-a high end car is tight with no movement. No big deal but just an illustration.

Guitarking1

I've been very pleased with my C7 interior thus far. Could improvements be made as compared to other cars in its price range? Sure, but I'm happy.

I remember moving from my C4 to a C5 and being generally disappointed in that I thought the interior quality had gone down. So in comparison, I think its a big step up now.

fsvoboda

Yes. I'm not sinking Porsche money into a depreciating asset. I could afford to do so, but I just won't. My C7 is a 2017 1LT with auto. That's it. I got it new for $10,000 off list and with 0% five year financing. You could buy two or three for the cost of a 911.

If you want a C7 that's a work of art, the 3LT with one of the special trim packages is as close as you will get, but 911 is still going to beat it as an art object--and still will cost more.

99999

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