Consumer Reports is Impressed with the New 2020 Corvette Stingray

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Consumer Reports is Impressed with the New 2020 Corvette Stingray


It’s always nice when you get a positive review from Consumer Reports and that’s exactly what it appears they gave the 2020 Corvette Stingray after they had a chance to drive it on their test track.

Corvette’s history with the magazine is sort of a mixed bag. It always seems like they either love the Corvette or hate it, without much middle ground. Yet a search through our archives on Consumer Reports show they have been more friendly to the sports car throughout the C7 generation and now it looks like that trend may be continuing with the arrival of the C8 Corvette.

The review of the new Corvette goes out first to their subscribers. While we haven’t read the whole review, we do have an excerpt from the test thanks to a user on the MidEngineCorvetteForum.com.

Here is what they say:

This ground-up redesign takes the Corvette to new performance heights and gives it an air of sophistication. Handling is transformed with an instantaneous turn-in response, prodigious cornering grip, and an exhilarating sound. But it may be a less practical sports car than it used to be, with less readily accessible storage and with restricted visibility.

It doesn’t take more than approaching the first corner to realize that this Corvette was cut from a different cloth from its predecessors. Gone is the feeling of a nose-heavy car — instead, the C8 turns into corners in an immediate way that only midengined cars do. No longer is there the looming threat that the rear end is about to snap loose. Rather, the C8 grips tenaciously and instills a lot of confidence.

On the road, the C8 is extremely agile, hiding its wide stance quite well as it carves its way through corners. The steering is well-judged, with the right effort and decent feedback.

Even the ride is cultured enough and, unlike most sports cars, doesn’t beat the occupants up.

The eight-speed automated manual works wonders. It pretends that it’s a conventional box in routine street driving. But dial the mode to Track and it mimics a professional driver downshifting when braking for a turn and facilitates a concerto for a normally aspirated, hearty, and muscular classic American V8 when driven with gusto. Paddles behind the steering wheel allow manual overrides.

We are sure there must be a caveat or two in the review, because as one MECF member states, “…CR reviews of performance cars are about as helpful as soliciting grandma’s opinion on the topic”. Still, this is high praise from the magazine and we hope to get our hands on the entire review at some point.


Source:
consumerreports.org via MidEngineCorvetteForum.com

Related:
Consumer Reports Names Corvette as One of 10 Most Satisfying Cars
Corvette Ranks Second Overall in Consumer Reports’ Owner Satisfaction Survey
C7 Corvette, Camaro Make Consumer Reports Recommended List for 2016

 



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2 COMMENTS

  1. They actually know more than you might think, several are high speed instructors and I’ve been driving their 2006 Z06 for 13 years and 144k miles, about 40k+ on track and that was one of their favorite test cars. They may have to write about economy, etc, but once they buy a car they can and do put it through the ringer track style. They know far more about track use than most realize.

  2. Just to be very clear, when the manufacturer stops by with a new vehicle at Consumer Reports, it’s for a first look and the mfg. wants to show all the new features. While they may run it around the tracks of the facility, no testing is done on it. That is only done on vehicles purchased anonymously in the same manner that all of us buy cars. They want what you buy, not a vehicle prepped for them to test.

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