cars news 10: 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51 Long-Term Update 3

I sadly haven’t been spending as much time in our long-term 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51 as I’d like. Between traveling, family vacations, and being away on comparison tests, I’ve spent far more time the past couple months driving everything but the Corvette. Thankfully it doesn’t sit idle while I gallivant around the globe. In my absence, associate editor Benson Kong and associate online editor Jason Udy have slid into the Stingray’s saddle. Here’s what they have to say:

Kong:

Preamble: Not only was this my first time in a Corvette since the Z06 from 2011 Best Driver’s Car, but this was also my first time in a C7 for an extended period of time. Amazing!

I’m sure this has been written about extensively, but what a great interior. Out of all the BDC contenders from 2011, I spent the second-most time with the Z06, which was, in hindsight and to put it kindly, tolerable. The C7 is such a big step up. The Corvette is now an even more aspirational midlife crisis mobile, having shed a bit of that “divorced uncle’s hot new sports car” feel to the cabin. The misaligned driver’s side map light switch and targa creaking [I’ll have the dealer address that when I bring the Corvette in for service. – Seabaugh] never stopped reminding me of its humble roots.

The Corvette is super easy to drive around town and in traffic. The transmission likes a bit of warming up in the early morning and the shifter is noticeably easier to work than the one in the last Z06, especially in higher gears. I had trouble with the 1-2 shift occasionally, partly because of the irregular 1-4 skip-shift and partly because I just couldn’t hit the gate sometimes for whatever reason. Touring mode steering is very relaxed. In general, the car’s behavior is extremely submissive, even though the outer appearance is highly aggressive. The driver H-point is half an inch too high, likely to enable drivers to take advantage of the generous view out of the windshield.

The biggest difference to me from C6 to C7 is the big reduction in engine and driveline heat radiating into the cabin … unless the car is driven hard. When driven normally, the heat buildup resistance is great, which is ideal for me because I don’t like heat or hot weather. When driven on a mountain road, the cabin gets as hot as I remember the Z06 being, and it seems to take a while to cool back down. Of course, it gets especially warm in the concealed compartments — the cubby behind the center screen and the center armrest bin — which is also where the USB ports are and hence where your phones are getting zapped by both electricity and accumulating heat.

The ‘Vette is definitely a high-limit car with a high approachability level, and of course it’s enjoyable to drive. It accepts mid-corner brake or steering corrections well, without producing overt signs it wants to stay in whatever steady state it was in a second ago. The only thing that got me in this car were the brakes. The rear end feels ever so slightly skittish under hard braking (like slowing from 80 for a hairpin) but I’m not sure if it was because of the road condition, a brake system imbalance (the pedal felt fine), or one side is toeing out excessively under braking. (I don’t think there should be an alignment issue since the car is pretty new.) I bet it was just the road conditions because the effect was generally subtle, except I was always counter-steering to the right to keep it straight.

Udy:

It started with a Facebook post. My cousin’s sister-in-law posted a smartphone video of her 6-year-old son’s excitement upon stumbling on an impromptu car meet. After noticing I was the first to like and comment on the video, my cousin told me I needed to take Marques for a ride the next time I got a fast press car. The next weekend I was lucky enough to score Christian Seabaugh’s long-term 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51 [After lots of pleading. – Seabaugh].

Once I had the Stingray’s key firmly in my grasp, I sent Marques’ mother, Anna, a message telling her I could swing by her place to give her young gearhead a ride in a 455-hp sports car. I reassured her that the 90-mile drive to her place in Riverside County from Motor Trend headquarters in Los Angeles was fine by me because it just meant more time behind the wheel on the freeway on a quiet Sunday afternoon.

Once we had Marques secure in his car seat, we headed out to a road made famous in the original “The Fast and the Furious” where the final semi heist scene was filmed. Upon start-up, I blipped the throttle causing Marques to jump and reevaluate his excitement for a ride in a fast car. After reassuring him that he would be safe and that I would count to three before I drove fast, he reluctantly agreed. We turned onto the parkway and I began to count. From a first-gear rolling start, I banged off the 1-2, 2-3, and 3-4 gear shifts before letting off just after hitting fourth gear.

Marques screamed the entire time we were accelerating. After we began to slow down, he was whimpering with his head in his hands. I looked over and asked if he was crying or laughing. He looked up at me smiling and said, “I am crying AND laughing!” By the time we finished the fifth full-throttle run, Marques no longer feared the Stingray’s accelerative force, although he did scold me one time for forgetting to count before stomping on the accelerator.

When I told Anna our top speed, she said, “That’s it? I’ve gone faster than that with him in the car.” I explained to her it wasn’t necessarily about the speed we went, but how fast we got there. She understood after I took her for a quick ride to the grocery store and back to pick up a few items.

More on our long-term 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Z51 here: