2008 Chevrolet Corvette

2008 Chevrolet Corvette - It’s an annoying trait. Although a Corvette can be driven at ludicrously high speeds around a racetrack—an ’07 Vette outran an Audi R8 and Porsche 911 Turbo in our second-annual Lightning Lap runoff at Virginia International Raceway [August 2007]—it can make even experienced drivers nervous on a challenging public road. The Porsche 911, for instance, may not be as quick on the track as a Vette, but it’s far more satisfying because it imparts the same level of confidence that one gets from driving a Mazda Miata.

We drove the old car first and immediately were reminded of the numb steering we’d noticed before. The effort is light at parking-lot speeds but then abruptly gets heavier with no apparent benefit as the speed rises. When driving through a turn at moderate speeds, the steering is heavy enough to give the impression that the car is working hard, when in fact it’s not.

The new car’s steering effort increases in a more natural way. It’s generally lighter but, at the same time, feels less artificial, like there’s less friction in the system. The Vette no longer has to be muscled through turns; it now glides along with far less drama.

Even so, we found ourselves driving through the turns 5 to 10 mph faster in the new car than in the old. Because both cars had the same unchanged-for-2008 Z51 suspension package that includes larger brakes, shorter gear ratios, and a stiffer suspension, we didn’t expect such a dramatic difference. We even rechecked the pressures in the Goodyear tires to make sure they hadn’t been overinflated, which would make the new Vette jumpy over the bumps, but they were all at the factory-recommended setting of 30 psi. Clearly, then, the changes have made a huge improvement in the Chevy’s handling.

Since there were no changes to the brakes or tires, the skidpad and braking measurements remain about the same as the old car’s. The Vette requires 161 feet to stop from 70 mph and grips the pavement to the tune of 0.95 g, both stellar results.

Other changes for ’08 include new wheels—the only exterior difference—and a standard auxiliary input for the radio. The best things about the Corvette remain, however: It’s comfortable, with its surprisingly compliant ride, excellent automatic climate control, and light clutch effort that’s now complemented by a shifter that glides relatively easily into gear. (The engineers redesigned the shift linkage for lighter, more direct throws.) The Vette is one of those sports cars that you wouldn’t hesitate to drive daily.