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The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette is undoubtedly considered one of the good vehicles in our long-term fleet. However on account of COVID disrupting our typical automobile signout course of, I hadn’t pushed it a lot since we purchased it in mid-2020. My fortunes modified earlier this 12 months once I approached automobile czar Mike Schmidt with a request: Put me in a automobile that I might keep in for some time. Mike recognized the Corvette as an appropriate candidate; outdoors of the occasional video look, there wasn’t a robust enterprise want from our workforce.
And that is how I ended up spending 4 out of seven months this 12 months within the long-term Corvette. This is how the Corvette held up as my each day driver, from utilizing it as an airport shuttle, grocery getter and pregnant-wife transport.
Backing up a bit — within the curiosity of full disclosure, Mike had additionally provided the Shelby GT500. At 6-foot-4, I match within the Shelby extra comfortably, however its pinchy Recaro seats and cumbersome around-town dealing with made it much less interesting in my eyes. I used to be prepared to take care of the Corvette’s tighter inside in trade for the superior driving expertise.
My takeaway: Although the cabin is not spacious, the Corvette’s straightforward maneuverability, nice experience, supportive seats and always-there energy made it a wonderful companion for on a regular basis duties.
The Corvette’s steering is splendidly direct and fast, with quantity of resistance as you progress from the middle place. You do not have to wrestle with the wheel to get it to show, however you are at all times conscious of the place it (and thus the tires) are pointing. The steering motion goes a great distance in making the automobile really feel straightforward to drive on a commute — neither darty nor ungainly.
I have never pushed a C8 Corvette with out the adaptive suspension, however I believe it is value the additional spend. We ticked the field for the magnetorheological dampers once we specced our long-termer, and I can say no doubt that this is among the best-riding sports activities vehicles on sale as we speak. The Corvette glides over cracks within the highway that may produce a jittery experience in different high-performance coupes. It is equally composed at excessive speeds if you would possibly strike a bump or enlargement joint on the freeway.
The seats are one other excessive level. Even although we opted for the midrange GT2 buckets — sportier than the beforehand accessible customary thrones however much less hardcore than the Competitors Sport seats — I discovered them fairly snug. They’re extremely adjustable and, regardless of being a extra aggressive choice, nicely fitted to most journeys. Rating yet one more win for the Corvette’s on a regular basis usability.
Lastly, there’s the completely good 6.2-liter V8 simply behind your head. Even if you’re low within the powerband, you’ll be able to really feel the gobs of torque at your disposal should you give the throttle probably the most momentary of blips. Form of just like the Porsche 911, the Corvette has an accelerator pedal with some resistance baked into its bodily motion. The little additional effort required signifies that the drivers are aware of the request for energy that they are making. You are not going to by chance press the pedal and rocket ahead, in different phrases. It is all very purposeful. And the V8 has no downside shortly ramping up the miles per hour. The Corvette feels so fast, it is nearly exhausting to imagine that it will finally be the bottom engine in a lineup stuffed with even spicier powertrains.
Regardless that the Corvette is kind of sensible by sports activities automobile requirements, it is nonetheless a mid-engine coupe. The cabin is on the small aspect, and given my physique’s foolish proportions, I’ve to make some sacrifices with a view to match. This implies selecting between scooching nearer to the wheel so my head is not butting up in opposition to the roof, or shifting the seat again and propping my head in opposition to the roof’s steel crossbar. I normally go for much less legroom/extra headroom.
My spouse and I additionally came upon {that a} pregnant girl can comfortably get out and in of the passenger seat till about midway by means of the fifth month. Scrunching to succeed in the door deal with after you get in is a little bit difficult however will be mitigated by the presence of a useful companion on the skin. Previous this level, although, getting out and in of the low-slung Corvette turns into an excessive amount of of a trouble. As soon as the child’s residence, the Corvette goes into the storage. You would possibly as nicely get used to it now.
Lastly, storage choices for bigger objects are restricted. I needed to pack heavy for a latest journey, which meant breaking out a massive suitcase. I am a poor planner and did not suppose to strive putting the suitcase into the automobile earlier than I packed it. On the morning of my flight, I noticed the case would not match within the Corvette’s passenger seat. I ended up swapping into my spouse’s compact SUV as airport transport. One other journey just a few weeks later revealed that even a standard-sized carry-on could not be stowed within the rear trunk. I might technically place it in, however the hatch would not shut. Into the passenger seat it went — cosy, however doable.
Except for a handful of cargo and private house points, utilizing the Chevrolet Corvette as a each day driver is not any downside. That is fairly superb given its efficiency capabilities.