[chevelle]

** Long Post for Readers **

This is gonna be a long post. Please bear with me as i write my first ownership review of my dream car. If you would like to skip the background and history of how i acquired it, please move to next post to read the First impressions of Corvette.

Let me start with a brief background and history of my new acquisition - 2011 Chevrolet Corvette.

I had a 99 Toyota Camry 4-Cylinder which i was looking to replace with a coupe. The camry was good commuter car for a year and half that i owned but always wanted to own a sports car that would put smile on my face each day i commute 30 miles to work.

So in July-August 2012, i started my hunted for a pre-owned sports car that would complement the Infiniti G35 sedan in the garage. Since i was used to a good ride and handling package in G35, i wanted to raise the bar a notch. So i started my search with following cars in mind

- 370Z (Great entry level sports car)
- 335i coupe (Sweet handling coupe, not a sports car and same as G35)
- Z4 (A good GT, expensive and slow)
- Cayman (Very sharp inside out, great handling and a Porsche tag, expensive)
- Camaro (Sweet sounding V8, Looks, quite loaded, ok interior)
- Corvette ( a distant dream initially)

So, i started doing test drives of all coupes i could lay my hands on. Most of the test drives are documented in the the buying and owning cars in NA Thread, linked below

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-c...ml#post2866018

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-c...ml#post2817858

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-c...ml#post2884264

Somehow, along the way, i realized that i could have a Corvette for the price of new Camaro. That's when i started getting serious about Corvette and started looking for 2008 and up Corvettes with automatic transmission. Since it was summer, prices were very high for the Corvettes and i decided to play the waiting game since i was in no hurry.

Came across many 2008-2009 Corvettes having done anywhere from 15k to 50k miles on odo. Since i was spending around $35k, i was not ready to spend on a high mileage corvette since 90% of the time it is used as a weekend/fun car. So last week, i almost finalized a deal on 2009 Corvette with 15k miles on odo when a sales representative in BMW showroom sent me a 2011 Corvette that they took in as a trade-in.

I asked for me information and photos and i started negotiating price with the guy over email. At this time, i just had seen the side and front of the car in pictures. So while i was a little apprehensive, but from pics i could see that it was in good condition.

So next day, i went to the showroom of BMW and waited for first glimpse of Corvette. Seeing sea of BMWs made me even more eager to see a different beast in the lot. And after 15 mins wait, it came out of detailing and that moment is something i will never forget in my life. I just stood there staring at this beauty of a car, totally holding my breath, taking in the whole profile of the car and was stunned and speechless for couple of minutes while the sales guy parked it for test drive. Once i got hold of myself, i checked it out and went through each and every curves of car to see if it had any signs of abuse. I was happy to see that it was immaculately maintained and in good condition.

So i drove it briefly for 5 miles or so, checked couple of things common to this year's corvette and finally waited for my wife to arrive for final approval.

Meanwhile, i started doing all the paperwork as i was confident that she will love it and she went through the same emotions that i went through when seeing it for the first time. We agreed that normal colors like Silver, Black don't evoke similar emotions when seeing the corvette. It looks really stunning in Torch Red.

Again, second wave of negotiations started which involved trade-in value of camry and interest rate. Finally, we reach an agreement and the deal was signed of and i drove it away with a huge smile on my face that started with its first look.

I will continue with first impression and pics of the corvette in my next post. Meanwhile, here is the teaser pic. Thank you for reading. Continued.....

[chevelle]

Having owned this beauty for 5 days and having done around 200 miles around town and freeways, i thought i should pen down first impressions of 2011 Corvette by Chevrolet.

Here are basic specs of 2011 Chevrolet Corvette

- LS3 6.2L V8 Engine
- 430 HP
- 6-Speed Automatic Transmission with Paddle shifters
- Weight w/o driver: 1455 Kgs/3208 lbs
- Top Speed - 190 mph
- 0-60 mph - ~4.5 seconds

Pros:

- Looks. I love the looks of c6 the most after Stingray. Rest in between were not good enough for me to evoke same passion. The quad exhaust shows that this car means business.
- The color and the quality of fit and finish. I love the torch red color. It makes the corvette look even more desirable than silver or black. The fit and finish of exterior is spot on and the quality of paint is of high level
- I love the Chrome alloys on this and simply dig the huge rear tires.
- The way engine hood opens up is super cool.
- This has targa rooftop so top panel comes up if one wants to do open air motoring. I dig this idea as i am not a fan of soft-top convertibles.
- The doors open wide give you enough room to wiggle in. Yes, you need to make an effort for entry and exit from corvette. Not good for old people with back problems.
- Once inside, you sit low and very near to the ground. The seat is very comfortable and holds you very well.
- You look around and see lots of leather everywhere. The interior is much improved against 2005-2009 corvettes but i found 2009 Cayman's upgraded interior better. Again, in corvette it is recommended for interior upgrade package that transforms the interior into a whole new level of quality.
- The button placements is spot on and is very driver oriented with center console directed more towards driver.
- Enough room for two adults without sacrificing shoulder room.
- Easily accessible trunk space. The volume this trunk/boot can hold is quite huge. Good enough space to carry couple of big bags for a weeks trip.
- The doors shut with reassuring thud. The steering is fantastic to hold and is adjustable. It is very easy to find a comfortable position with multi-way adjustments provided for the seat.

Cons:

- No auto down on window switches.
- Poor visibility on driver side. Need to get used to this as its common for most coupes.
- Interior quality seems like a compromise.
- Sound quality from stock speakers is meh!
- Very low thereby causing problems for trucks and trailers to look out for corvettes. Have to be very careful when going around them.
- Only aux and cd player on a 2011 corvette. I expected USB as standard. Have to go for premium sound package that adds usb, ipod connectivity as well as 9-Speaker Bose system.
- Sits low to the ground so have to be careful else easily scrapes the bumper.

Driving impressions of the Vette

Turn on the engine and it shakes the whole car and settles to idle rpm very soon. There is insane amount of torque available early in the cycle so it is very easy to reach legal speed limits without much ado. The roar from the engine is truly additive.

Ride quality is fantastic for a sports car. Just the right amount of firmness and the ability to go over bad roads is a boon.

Handling is where this thing shines apart from obvious straight line power. Taking corners at 60-65 mph is a breeze and it doesn't even break a sweat. Compared to G35 this is more predictable, precise and handles beautiful planting a smile on face each time i take turns.

The refinement on the engine is truly a revelation. I was hoping lots of noise at 65-75mph but i was surprised to see that it was very quiet and refined. It also maintains very low rpms at such speeds which means not much engine noise or wind noise and also aids in improving fuel economy. On some pavements i did notice road noise but from what i read this is because of the GY Eagle F1 tires and possibly the road being concrete or something.

The steering is very responsive and the brakes have enough bite to come to a sudden stop if required.

The 6-speed automatic transmission is robust and always seems to be in right gear at all times. Paddle shifters are provided for some manual fun which i haven't explored yet.

I have still not explored all areas of corvette, especially above 2000 rpm. I am still getting used to the corvette and am still learning new things about what it has to offer. I will keep this thread updated as and when i learn new things. I am unsure of fuel economy this will give. I will go through couple of tank to tank fills and update.

I thank you all for reading and a big shout out to the members here who helped me during the evaluation of various cars and during the purchase of this dream car.

Here is a photo of the car from my favorite angle. More photos will follow soon.

[chevelle]

Here are some photos of the Corvette. Once again, thank you for reading. C&C most welcome.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[sumeethaldankar]

Congrats on the awesome ride.You are one lucky guy.Is she going to be your daily ride.Also more pics of the interior and a video of the rumbling v8 exhaust would be great.

Wish you a thousands of happy miles.

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Congrats on the awesome ride.You are one lucky guy.Is she going to be your daily ride.Also more pics of the interior and a video of the rumbling v8 exhaust would be great.

Wish you a thousands of happy miles.

Thanks a lot. Yes, it will be daily ride.

I will post the more pics and video soon. Thanks

[amitoj]

Congratulations once again Chevelle. She is a beaut.

Yes, we need more pictures, a few videos and an answer to a question engrained in all of us. Kitna deti hai

[joslicx]

Whoa. What a beauty! And did you say 6.2L! am speechless.

corvette is a corvette. Feeling jealous really and yes, almost forgot to say, nevertheless, Congratulations!

[VLOCT]

Congrats again Chevelle.

The car looks awesome. Have lots of fun..

[Technocrat]

Congrats once again, She is a beauty

Originally Posted by amitoj

an answer to a question engrained in all of us. Kitna deti hai

Damn, you beat me to this, i was going to ask Kitna Deti hai

[chevelle]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Congratulations once again Chevelle. She is a beaut.

Yes, we need more pictures, a few videos and an answer to a question engrained in all of us. Kitna deti hai

Thanks Amit. Will post pictures soon.

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Congrats once again, She is a beauty



Damn, you beat me to this, i was going to ask Kitna Deti hai

Thanks

For me to answer Kitna Deti Hai, i need to empty the fuel tank first. It will be done in couple of days so i will update it soon.

[Jomz]

Nice car, congrats again.
Forgot to mention about the HUD?? Or is this 1LT??

[mayankjha1806]

Congratulations, she sure looks awesome, and the red color makes it look even better. Not sure if any other color choice would have been this good.

Why bother about Kitna Deti Hai? Gas prices in US do not make you sweat ($3.5 per Gallon, i.e. approx INR 55 per Lt). The pleasure of driving will be priceless.

[maddy42]

Woah! Good one. Congrats. This is a sweet looking car and i would surely have been in love with this car.

Looking forward to some video of a drive in this car.

The pics are drool worthy!

[bigron]

Looking good buddy. Congratulations. There is something simplistic about the old school corvette which makes it endearing even today . Drive Hard , Drive Safe.
Some interior pictures would do good too !