I spent a few days last week test driving a C8 and focusing on details, thinking about what I do or don't like. I only found some minor items & wondered what other people's thoughts were. Overall, I loved the car and can't wait until I get the call that I'll be getting mine:

First off, the car looks and sounds amazing. Was a blast to drive and would be suitable as a daily driver. I loved being in it and looked for any excuse to get out on the road.

For a $70k+ vehicle (avg configuration) that offers lots of other electronic options, I would have liked rain-sensing, automatic wipers. Seems the norm these days on other cars. In South FL, the rain varies often with intensity and I felt I was constantly having to mess with the controls, to adjust the intermittency of the wipers.

Volume **** & home button: I think it would have been better located on the right side, maybe even at the bottom right. I find that it's in-line with the steering wheel and the wiper controls, so I felt like I was reaching around those items to get to the ****. Yes, there's the controls on the steering wheel but they adjust the volume rather slowly.

Audio: The sound quality was a lot better than what I was expecting. Maybe I missed something but I would have liked some sort of "source" button to switch between FM, XM, USB without having to get out of my NAV, switch to audio and fumble with the options, then switch back.

Cruise control: Why isn't it an adaptive cruise control?

I know some people just see those things as useless or additional weight but I just enjoy the car for what it is and will seldom track it. I enjoy driving the vehicle and knowing that the power is available when I need to pass or just want to have some fun on curved roads.

-Los

 

I agree with you on the location of the volume **** and home button. The stalk is in the way.

 

I have a C7 Z06 and have driven a two C8s, one Z51 and one base. Several things stood out:

1. Complete lack of storage or place to stow items in the cabin. You get a glove box and tiny center arm console. If you have to carry anything bigger than a phone and a passenger, you're probably going to need the trunk space.
2. Significantly lower road and tire noise. The stereo sounded amazing and then I realized the clarity comes in part due to better soundproofing.
3. The body roll or sway you get in a base C7 is just gone in a base C8. My Stingray needed sway bars to kill the float, but (to me) the C8 base was wonderful without changing anything.
4. Off-the-line it just hooks and goes. I can't even WoT on my Z06 until about 4k rpms in 1st and the C8 loves to launch.
5. Lastly, after a few hours in the C8, the cabin and dash in my C7 feel dated.

YMMV

 

Yeah we couldn't access our road trip cooler on the way home from the NCM. Takes a little more planning. Overall storage is good, just no access from the cabin.

 

Did you try pressing down on the thumbwheel on the right hand side of the steering wheel? In another GM vehicle I own, that cycles through the various audio inputs. I didn’t see that described in the Corvette Infotainment manual but it’s worth a try.

 

No, I did not. I'll try that next time and see what it does.

 

What are your thought about the Z-51 C8 and the non Z-51? Body roll, performance, braking, steering feel, etc

 

Why would anyone want to use the volume **** when there are controls right on the steering wheel?

 

Problem I found was that when I needed to adjust the volume, they did so rather slowly. I know that can be adjusted by GM with programming but again, they're just my observations. Wouldn't be so bad if the **** were located in a more convenient location.

 

Lack of interior storage can be a big issue for folks that like long distance road trips. Maybe not a deal killer?

 

I think I will miss the C7 storage capacity but I’ve decided it’s a small price to pay for probably the best sports car in its class out there. Besides there are roof racks.

 

We did 1,200 miles back from the NCM. Minor inconvenience. Got a small padded cooler to go under wife's legs.

You lose 2 cubic feet and actually gain space vs the C5/6/7 convertibles. We had no issues, but no, you can't make a home depot trip like you can with the C5/6/7 large hatch.

 

yup volume moves very slow via the steering wheel buttons. And the max volume you want to listen to is about half volume so if you turned it up high for a different source it can be quite loud.

And it seems counterintuitive that you have to push the button up from the back and not down from the front. I get why but I still do it wrong first

 

Yeah it doesn't respond well to clicking the button, works better if you hold it, but you're right... over 1/2 and I feel like it's going to blow out a speaker.

 

Where do I sign up for this multi-day test drive ?

 

Read my mind.

 

www.turo.com is an option.

 

Just thought of another item that was missing:

Cruise control: Why isn't it an adaptive cruise control?

 

GM is in a tough spot. In this thread, we have complaints regarding storage space, **** location, adaptive cruise,.... While on rennlist, someone complains about the lack of direct feel when driving the car, too floaty, too much of a cruiser,... I can definitelly see both sides . Maybe the Stingray will get even more "refinement" for those who want it, and the Grand Sport will be a little more "performance" oriented.