C7
After several hours, we swapped cars to acquaint ourselves
with the Chevrolet and it was instantly disappointing. The heavy twin-plate
clutch accessed a notchy gearbox, the numb steering was slow, throttle
actuation ponderous and the body rolled into turns, giving an impression of
considerable weight. It felt industrial, almost agricultural. Even the exhaust
note was muted and monotone.
Transmissions such
as the eight-speed auto in the Jag are exemplary
All this shone an even brighter light on the Jaguar, but the
Stingray hadn’t warmed to us yet. It took a few miles before we could
appreciate what it had to offer.
Let’s start with the transmission because it dominates first
impressions. Being a seven-speed takes some familiarization, since the neutral
position is sprung between third and fourth. This means that higher ratios
require the lever to be pushed to the right, but finding the right amount of
pressure took a few miles. And although we didn’t like the idea of a gear
indicator, it proved useful at first when confirming you guessed right.
Another unwanted aid was the Rev Matching function. It was
selected by the redundant shift paddles left over from the automatic
transmission that’s also available with this car. Once armed, down changes were
accompanied by a throttle blip to ensure smooth engagement. However, it also
has the effect of making every Corvette owner sound like a racecar driver.
The Vette was
fitted with the optional Magnetic Ride Control, which damped uneven road
surfaces slightly better than the Jag
Along with its Hill Hold function and electronic parking
brake, the Stingray usurps the art of the heel-n-toe downshift or the e-brake
hill start, allowing the electronics to empower the incompetent. Frankly, if
you can start a manual car on a steep hill or rev-match on downchanges without
these devices, we’d question why you’re at the wheel of a 460hp Corvette!
That said, it makes the car accessible to more people, and
at least Chevrolet has provided a manual option. Kudos to an American
manufacturer for not abandoning the clutch pedal entirely. In fact, European
Corvette owners won’t even get the automatic option.
While transmissions such as the eight-speed auto in the Jag
are exemplary, there are still some of us who enjoy the control and flexibility
of selecting our own gears and side-stepping the clutch occasionally.
There were voices who suggested we shouldn’t compare the
manual Vette to the auto F-Type, but we felt we should test the best of what’s
available. And because the C7 even has a manual option, it will be a better
choice for drivers like us…
The Vette was fitted with the optional Magnetic Ride
Control, which damped uneven road surfaces slightly better than the Jag. It
allowed a curious amount of body roll, but that allowed you to setup the car
for each turn, shifting the weight with the steering. At low speed the car felt
heavy, but the responses lightened as speed increased. So at very high speed,
the Stingray felt more stable than the Jaguar, with its Michelins and
transparent traction control keeping the Vette pointing in the right direction
at all times.
The Rev Matching
function has the effect of making every Corvette owner sound like a racecar
driver
In fact, all our complaints evaporated once we settled into
the car. The steering became more positive at speed, and the four-piston
Brembos were easier to modulate than the Jag’s brakes, giving you a little more
confidence into turns. The grip on exit was astonishing, making it feel as if
every turn could have been taken faster if you had another go.
The exhaust note also improved. Although it maintained the
same hollow bellow at all engine speeds, it happily gained volume and purpose
with velocity. It made the car feel more brutal, more substantial than before.
The Performance Exhaust fitted to our car gave an extra 5hp
and 5 lb-ft, but that was icing on an already well-decorated cake. It’s amazing
to think that in 2013, Chevrolet’s flagship model uses a two-valve pushrod
engine, but this 6.2L LT1 V8 generates 50 lb-ft more torque than the outgoing
7.0L LS7 in the 2013 Z06. It also offers a better power to weight ratio than
the 911 Carrera or Audi R8, making it a serious contender at a fraction of the
price.
In Z51 guise, it gets dry-sump lubrication and better
cooling, making it ideal for track use.
The Corvette has a sensitive side, though. Its Drive Mode
selector allows you to access Eco, Weather, Tour, Sport or Track settings. These
are fairly self-explanatory, with Eco mode allowing the engine to operate as a
V4, deactivating half the cylinders to make its 29mpg EPA rating possible.
Meanwhile, the F-Type gets stop/start technology to also reduce fuel
consumption.
At low speed the
car felt heavy, but the responses lightened as speed increased
Of the other modes, Weather was designed for rain or snow,
while Tour was designed for daily driving. Admittedly, we spent most of our
time in Sport, giving us access to different settings on the throttle,
steering, suspension, e-diff, traction control and exhaust flaps.
In Sport, we found that throttle sensitivity had an
interesting step, where it allowed you to potter around at regular speed
without drama. But push past some resistance and the car introduced a different
side to its character at full throttle. It awoke with a start, careening
forward with a velocity and noise previously unknown. That’s when you realized
it was genuinely 0.4sec quicker to 60mph than the Jag, and would probably keep
accelerating past it in the higher gears.
We should point out that seventh gear on the manual is
strictly for cruising. You’ll need to change down to pass anything since it’s
loping along at 70mph at about 1400rpm. It’s strictly for fuel saving and worked
well in combination with Eco mode, where we saw some savings.
We returned about
19mpg average in the Corvette, where the Jaguar saw 20/21mpg
That said, we returned about 19mpg average in the Corvette,
where the Jaguar saw 20/21mpg. This defied the stats because we spent hours on
the freeway, but the 6.2L Vette required engine revs to gain speed, where the
Jag had more to offer at lower RPM. This seemed to give the F-Type a narrow
advantage at the pumps during our 500-mile adventure. Daily driven in Eco mode,
we’re confident that the Corvette’s cylinder deactivation should be able to do
much better than we managed…
At the end of the day, the Vette needs to be manhandled to
extract its best. Where the Jag is instantly accessible, the Chevy seems to
have a secret level, only accessed once you have the password. Yet the harder
you push, the better the C7 feels. This is possibly because its roots are more
muscle car than sports car, lacking the grace and agility of the F-Type. It
certainly couldn’t be called subtle!
