2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Review and Test Drive

This week I am fortunate to be behind the wheel of the hottest car of the year, the 2020 Chevy Corvette. This is also the most sought after vehicle by car reviewers in America.

This is the 8th generation Corvette, therefore it is known as the C8. The first Corvette debuted in 1953. In 67 years, this is the first mid-engine Corvette in history.

Exterior

The exterior speaks for itself. It has beautiful lines, it is sleek, and it has air vents everywhere to feed the engine, most noticeable of which are on the sides, behind the doors. The C8 has 19” front wheels, and 20” back wheels, topped off with a rear spoiler and quad exhaust. People stare at this car wherever you go and people constantly film you going down the road. Many have said they thought it was a Ferrari and some think it looks like the Batmobile.

Powertrain

Look through the outside rear glass behind the driver’s compartment and you’ll find the meat of this sports car, a 6.2-liter naturally-aspirated V8 that is putting out 490-horses and 470-pound feet of torque. It will take you from zero-to-60 in a mere 2.9 seconds and if you keep going, you’ll reach 194-miles per hour.

To help with these incredible statistics, the big V8 is hooked to an 8-speed dual clutch transmission that you can shift from paddles if you wish, but I found it best to just let the tranny do its thing. I do like to use the paddles for downshifting when approaching a stop.

Interior

Pop open the electronic doors to reveal a true driver cockpit that looks way ahead of its time. Sit behind the unusual square steering wheel (with controls) and you’ll find a bright and easy to read gauge cluster that is configurable, quite colorful, and changes with each drive mode.

Your eyes are immediately drawn to the climate control bar that separates the driver from the passenger. It is a sight to see, unlike any other car I’ve ever been in.

There is an 8” infotainment touchscreen up high, and that operates the Bose audio, Bluetooth, Navigation, Wi-Fi hotspot, the settings, Apple CarPlay and Android auto.

Swipe left and you’ll find apps, Onstar, the climate settings, camera settings, marketplace (order your Starbucks in advance), Amazon Alexa, and a cool feature called the Performance Data Recorder (PDR).

When you use an SD card with the PDR, you can record your performance statistics and play them back with the gauges overlaid on camera view. Best of all, it doubles as a dash cam, so if you are in an accident you can document what happened. Another cool feature is a rearview mirror camera, which is nice considering rear vision is somewhat limited.

Back to the center console, you get a couple of cup holders, a center glove box, and you’ll see a soft touch hand rest positioned over the drive mode switch to use when you are using the touchscreen. This also prevents you from accidentally changing the drive modes.

There is also a switch to turn on a front view camera, a handy thing to have when you have a car that sits low to the ground. You can see any obstacles ahead, including curbs. Between the seats is a cell phone charger, but you sort of have to contort to use it. There is a wonderful head-up display with sign recognition and it also tells you when you exceed the speed limit. I saw that warning a lot this week.

Let’s talk about the drive modes. You can choose from Tour, Sport, (which is my favorite actually) Track, Weather, and My Mode which you can set to your own liking. Each mode seriously changes the dynamics of the car.

The attention to detail in this interior is amazing. Contrast colors flow from the door panels into the stitched dash to form a dual layer of material. The air vents are ultra-thin, more so than I have ever seen. The buttons for the transmission are fantastic. You pull up a button for reverse and drive, but you push buttons for park, neutral, and to use the manual shift mode.

The C8 has a trunk in the front called a “frunk” that will carry a good amount of cargo and there is more room in the engine compartment. If you take the targa top off, it will fit snugly and latches in the rear area for safe keeping. The rear hatch is soft close; just barely put it down and it will close itself.

Standard Equipment and Options

This is the 2LT package, right in the middle of three packages. Standard equipment is ample including the removable targa top, remote start, power heated and cooled seats, power tilt steering wheel that is also heated, and a Bose 14-speaker stereo.

Options-wise, the 2LT package, which has a long list of great features, is $7300, upgraded seats and wheels total $3000. Performance exhaust and red brake calipers add $1800.

Ride and Drive

The 2020 Corvette is nothing short of amazing. The throttle response and acceleration is quick and the dual clutch transmission shifts so smoothly it’s hard to feel it. If you are over 6-feet tall, you’ll be OK with headroom and the C8 is easier to get in and out of than previous versions.

Best of all, the mid-engine configuration adds a lot of stability and really plants the car to the ground. My 2016 Z06 was not nearly as stable or planted, which is why I got rid of it.

If you care about fuel economy, you shouldn’t be looking at a Vette, but it’s actually good at 15 in town and 27 on the highway.

What You’ll Pay

MSRP is $72,075 and honestly, I don’t know how they could build this Supercar and sell it for that. It is easy to see why they bring $20,000 or more over MSRP at the dealer auctions. I’ve had some exotic sports cars before that were three times this price and not as enjoyable.

Getting one is no easy chore. As I write this in late August 2020, the 2021 model year is sold out and orders can be placed for the 2022 model.