Z06 For a Day
There used to be a great little exotic car rental place not far from where I live, and so I have had the pleasure of renting a few amazing cars for a day. Last summer I was lucky enought to rent a 2004 Corvette Z06 for a day. Of all the cars I have rented there, which includes a BMW M3 and a Hennessy Viper 500 and a regular C5 Vette, this is the one I wanted to keep the most. I had a hard time bringing this one back, and if I wasn't such a safety nut who must have every safety feature possible in his cars, I probably would have tried to find one I could afford to buy.
This car simply combined outrageous acceleration with a driveability that few cars can match. This car was very easy to drive. Clutch takeup was smooth, and you could drive away smoothly from a stop with no problem. The car was also very solid - more so than the C5 - as the hardtop obviously greatly improves the cars rigidity. I was going over some really bumpy roads and could not believe how solid the car felt. I actually uttered "This feels like a Benz!", which is a slight exagerration, but I was impressed. The only downside was the road noise, as those huge tires cannot help but create quite a racket at highway speeds, though I must say, still quieter than the C5 in my opinion, which I think is a second benefit of the hardtop construction. You don't get as much sound intrusion from the rear as you get in the regular version.
But the selling point of this car is the power. Zero to 60 in 4.2 seconds are the stats, but that does not say it all. The cars generates amazing torque just off of idle. You are never lacking power in any gear at any rpm. It make for great everyday driving because there is alway power, and you don't have to drop a gear or two just to pass someone or feel the rush of acceleration. And the rush in this car is incredible, and downright scary at times. It shoves you back in the seat hard in first gear, and when you hit second, it slams you back again, the traction control doing a great job of only decreasing the power slightly if you start to lose traction. This car does not just die the second the tires lose traction like in so many cars. GM knew this was an enthusiast car, and the traction control allows a little bit of slip and only backs of the throttle a tiny bit to keep you in line. I loved that. And unless you are a really amazing driver on a closed course, I recommend that you do not ever turn off the traction control, except maybe for the occasional burnout, as this car will bit you. You get a little overzealous on the throttle and the rear end will break loose so fast you will shit your pants. This car has a ton of power going to those rear wheels and you had better respect it. In just one day of driving the traction control saved my ass and possibly my life more than once.
All the automotive journalists have criticized the interior of the car to various degrees, so I will skip that part. I agree it is not impressive, but you have to keep the cost down somehow, and it is obvious where they pinched pennies.
I only have two serious criticisms. First is the handling. A race car driver may feel differently, as they may have much more experience with a car this extreme, but I felt like the steering lacked precision. After a whole day in the car I never felt like I could just nail and apex perfectly or pick a line and have it just carry me through exactly how I wanted. The BMW M3 did both those things to perfection. After 5 minutes in the M3 I felt like I could hit a dime with the car. A whole day in the Z06 and I felt like I could maybe put it in the general direction of dime. I think initial turn in was so extreme I couldn't get used to it, and felt like I had to correct my line frequently. The M3 became and extension of my body, the Z06 never did, and alway felt somewhat removed from me in the corners. Perhaps more time with the car would have improved that feeling.
The other downside was the constant chattering from the rear end, I assume the transmission. This made a fair amount of noise, very noticeable when stopped. It felt like something was broken, or about to break, and the noise came through so easily, it was apparent there is not much sound deadening material on the floor, obviously to save weight.
So to be sure, this is no SL600, but it certainly posses outrageous acceleration with solid structure and driveability that bode well for this current generation of Corvettes. You can bitch all you want about the interior, and the road noise, but floor it through first and second and then try to peel the smile off your face.
This car simply combined outrageous acceleration with a driveability that few cars can match. This car was very easy to drive. Clutch takeup was smooth, and you could drive away smoothly from a stop with no problem. The car was also very solid - more so than the C5 - as the hardtop obviously greatly improves the cars rigidity. I was going over some really bumpy roads and could not believe how solid the car felt. I actually uttered "This feels like a Benz!", which is a slight exagerration, but I was impressed. The only downside was the road noise, as those huge tires cannot help but create quite a racket at highway speeds, though I must say, still quieter than the C5 in my opinion, which I think is a second benefit of the hardtop construction. You don't get as much sound intrusion from the rear as you get in the regular version.
But the selling point of this car is the power. Zero to 60 in 4.2 seconds are the stats, but that does not say it all. The cars generates amazing torque just off of idle. You are never lacking power in any gear at any rpm. It make for great everyday driving because there is alway power, and you don't have to drop a gear or two just to pass someone or feel the rush of acceleration. And the rush in this car is incredible, and downright scary at times. It shoves you back in the seat hard in first gear, and when you hit second, it slams you back again, the traction control doing a great job of only decreasing the power slightly if you start to lose traction. This car does not just die the second the tires lose traction like in so many cars. GM knew this was an enthusiast car, and the traction control allows a little bit of slip and only backs of the throttle a tiny bit to keep you in line. I loved that. And unless you are a really amazing driver on a closed course, I recommend that you do not ever turn off the traction control, except maybe for the occasional burnout, as this car will bit you. You get a little overzealous on the throttle and the rear end will break loose so fast you will shit your pants. This car has a ton of power going to those rear wheels and you had better respect it. In just one day of driving the traction control saved my ass and possibly my life more than once.
All the automotive journalists have criticized the interior of the car to various degrees, so I will skip that part. I agree it is not impressive, but you have to keep the cost down somehow, and it is obvious where they pinched pennies.
I only have two serious criticisms. First is the handling. A race car driver may feel differently, as they may have much more experience with a car this extreme, but I felt like the steering lacked precision. After a whole day in the car I never felt like I could just nail and apex perfectly or pick a line and have it just carry me through exactly how I wanted. The BMW M3 did both those things to perfection. After 5 minutes in the M3 I felt like I could hit a dime with the car. A whole day in the Z06 and I felt like I could maybe put it in the general direction of dime. I think initial turn in was so extreme I couldn't get used to it, and felt like I had to correct my line frequently. The M3 became and extension of my body, the Z06 never did, and alway felt somewhat removed from me in the corners. Perhaps more time with the car would have improved that feeling.
The other downside was the constant chattering from the rear end, I assume the transmission. This made a fair amount of noise, very noticeable when stopped. It felt like something was broken, or about to break, and the noise came through so easily, it was apparent there is not much sound deadening material on the floor, obviously to save weight.
So to be sure, this is no SL600, but it certainly posses outrageous acceleration with solid structure and driveability that bode well for this current generation of Corvettes. You can bitch all you want about the interior, and the road noise, but floor it through first and second and then try to peel the smile off your face.
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