LIKES
- Value for performance
- 0-60 mph passes in 2.9 seconds
- Exotic design
- Well-appointed cabin
- Racetrack ready
DISLIKES
- Lacks automatic emergency braking
- Hardly fits two thin golf bags
- Little cargo room
- Where’s the manual transmission?
BUYING TIP
- Go for the magnetic dampers to improve the ride and pick the Z51 Performance Package if performance driving is in the plans.
An American exotic with the looks and performance to prove it, the 2022 Chevrolet Corvette comes at a bargain.
What kind of vehicle is the 2022 Chevrolet Corvette? What does it compare to?
A mid-engine sports car offered in coupe and convertible body styles, the Chevy Corvette takes on rivals as varied as the Porsche 911 and 718, the Audi R8, and even the Nissan GT-R.
Is the 2022 Chevrolet Corvette a good car?
It’s fantastic. The Corvette puts its power to the pavement better than ever thanks to its mid-engine design. It’s also supremely capable on a racetrack, and its value can’t be matched given its performance. Our biggest issue is a lack of standard safety features. We give it a TCC Rating of 7.0 out of 10.
What's new for the 2022 Chevrolet Corvette?
Offered as a Stingray model with coupe and convertible body styles in 1LT, 2LT, and 3LT trim levels, the Corvette adds a Stingray IMSA GTLM Championship Edition for 2022. The car starts out as a 3LT with the Z51 Performance Package and is styled based on the C8.R GTLM race cars. It also sports a Carbon Flash finish for the rear spoiler and side mirrors, custom wheels with the Corvette Racing logo on the center, and new side skirts. Limited to 1,000 units, each car comes with a numbered plaque, heavily bolstered GT2 seats, a custom car cover, and yellow seat belts.
The Corvette cuts a striking mid-engine shape, with a cab-forward design that creates a short hood, wide rear haunches with large air intakes, and a clear, flat window over the engine. The Corvette creases still pop, perhaps more than ever, most noticeable in the angular nose.
Despite the engine upgrades, the 6.2-liter V-8 continues with 490 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque or 495 hp and 470 lb-ft with the optional performance exhaust system. The power goes to the rear wheels through an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The combo rockets the car from 0-60 mph in as little as 2.9 seconds, and that’s before the high-power Z06 hits the market as a 2023 model. Fuel economy is middling at 24 mpg on the highway.
The mid-engine design helps the power go efficiently to the pavement, and also ramps up the handling and track prowess to levels never achieved before—at least without moving up the ladder to Z06 or ZR1 models. Available magnetic dampers balance agility with a smooth ride.
Inside, the two-person cockpit cants the controls toward the driver, almost to the exclusion of the passenger. Lined with leather and trimmed with carbon fiber, the cabin is tight but attractive. Gone are the days of useful hatchback cargo space, replaced by a small frunk and a wider area behind the engine.
How much does the 2022 Chevrolet Corvette cost?
Famously, the Corvette started below $60,000 when the mid-engine 2020 model debuted. Now prices are up to $62,195 for the coupe and $69,695 for the convertible, both including destination. The new IMSA GTLM Championship Edition runs $6,595 for either body style, and the ZR1 Performance Package costs $6,345.
Standard equipment on the base 1LT includes leather upholstery, an 8.0-inch touchscreen, a 12.0-inch digital instrument cluster, a 10-speaker Bose audio system, remote start, and 19-inch front and 20-inch rear alloy wheels. Notable options include a head-up display, a power front lift system that can remember spots to activate, and GM’s Performance Data Recorder that can record track sessions and record telemetry.
2022 Chevrolet Corvette 2-door Stingray Coupe w/3LT Angular Rear Exterior View
The Corvette falls behind in safety features, though. It doesn’t even offer the now ubiquitous automatic emergency braking. Only rear parking sensors are standard, and buyers can get a rear camera mirror and blind-spot monitors.
Where is the 2022 Chevrolet Corvette made?
In Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Styling
The 2022 Chevy Corvette combines elements of European exotics with American muscle in a low, wide, and dramatically creased body.
Is the 2022 Chevrolet Corvette a good-looking car?
The Corvette features traditional design cues in a mid-engine layout that brings in elements of exotic cars. It’s wide and low, muscular and creased, but still recognizable as a Corvette. We rate it an 8 with two points for its exterior and one for its interior.
With the engine in the middle, the Corvette no longer has the long hood that’s marked it for generations. The cockpit moves forward, the hood is shorter, and the driver is closer to the front axle for a better feeling of control. The Corvette’s pointed nose remains, as do many familiar creases, taillights from the last generation, and the checkered flag logo on the hood, but the shape says Ferrari more than C7.
The cabin separates the driver from the passenger with a rising wall that’s topped with a line of climate controls. Every Corvette is nicely appointed with contrast-stitched leather upholstery, and aluminum and carbon-fiber trim. It’s well assembled and looks upscale.
Performance
The Corvette is fast and agile on a racetrack but comfortable enough to use as a daily driver.
Violently quick and incredibly agile, but with a ride that works for everyday driving, the Corvette scores a perfect 10 for performance.
How fast is the Chevrolet Corvette?
With much of the weight over the rear wheels, the Corvette hooks up efficiently and rockets from 0-60 mph in as little as 2.9 seconds. Motivation comes from a 6.2-liter V-8 that churns out 490 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque in standard tune or 495 hp and 470 lb-ft with the available performance exhaust system.
The power flows through a quick-shifting and responsive 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission that works great on a racetrack. We’d love a manual, but this transmission is no consolation prize, and drivers can choose their own gears via steering wheel paddles.
Braking is strong and stable. The standard brake rotors measure 12.6 inches up front and 13.6 inches at the rear, and the Z51 package bumps them up to 13.3 and 13.8 inches. Even the base all-season tires provide more than 1 g of lateral grip, and the Z51’s Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires are even stickier.
Is the Chevrolet Corvette 4WD?
With the engine behind the driver, the Corvette has a 40/60 weight distribution. It also sports double-wishbone suspensions front and rear and a low center of gravity. The design gives the car great agility, unflappable stability, and copious grip. The tail can step out when too much power is applied in a corner, but it’s easy to catch and get back on line.
The available magnetic dampers improve both the agility when driving hard and the ride quality while cruising. We recommend them. We recommend the Z51 Performance Package, too, especially for anyone who might take their Corvette to a racetrack. Its electronic version of the standard limited-slip differential improves traction when exiting corners and it has the extra cooling for hard driving.
Comfort & Quality
Chevrolet builds the Corvette’s cockpit around the driver, with supportive seats and great forward sight lines.
The Corvette’s cockpit is built to keep occupants snug on a track, but it has enough space for grand touring. The supportive seats and materials each earn a point, but the two-seat configuration subtracts a point. We rate it a 6.
The driver nestles in place, divided from the passenger by a central buttress that houses a single-file line of climate controls. The controls are canted toward the driver for easy use, and both occupants have good head and leg room as long as they aren’t taller than 6-foot-3.
With the mid-engine layout, the driver sits forward, closer to the nose, which provides an unobstructed view forward that helps place the ’Vette on a racetrack. The same can’t be said of the heavily blocked rear view, which can also be compromised by glare reflecting off the clear engine cover.
Those two areas have a total of 12.6 cubic feet of cargo space, which is fairly useful, but not large enough for bulkier items.
Safety
The Corvette is one of very few cars that lacks automatic emergency braking.
How safe is the Chevy Corvette?
Neither crash-test agency has wrecked a Corvette, so we can’t give it a rating here. If we could, it would lose a point for its lack of automatic emergency braking.
The only standard safety features on the 2022 Corvette not required by the government are rear parking sensors. Buyers can also opt for a rear camera mirror, blind-spot monitors with rear cross-traffic alerts, and a front-facing camera for the Performance Data Recorder. The blind-spot monitors and rear parking sensors are important because rearward vision is mostly blocked.
Features
The 2022 Corvette offers supercar performance for much less.
Chevrolet outfits the 2022 Corvette with a good set of standard features, a simple infotainment system, and plenty of options to improve both comfort and performance. That earns it an 8 here.
The Corvette starts at $62,995 for the coupe and $69,695 for the convertible and comes in 1LT, 2LT, or 3LT trim levels for both body styles.
The base 1LT comes with leather upholstery, 8-way power seats, an 8.0-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, 12.0-inch digital instrument cluster, remote start, 10-speaker Bose audio, satellite radio, LED headlights, and 19-inch front and 20-inch rear alloy wheels.
The additional features of the 2LT make it worth the step up to the $69,495 price. It gets a head-up display, heated and cooled seats with power lumbar adjustment, navigation, a 14-speaker Bose audio system, wireless smartphone charging, the Performance Data Recorder, a front camera, a rear camera mirror, and blind-spot monitors.
The convertible costs an additional $7,500 and comes with a power hard top that stows in 16 seconds at speeds up to 30 mph, all with the push of a button on the driver’s side armrest. A power rear window is provided between the headrests to reduce wind buffeting.
How much is a fully loaded 2022 Chevrolet Corvette?
Fuel Economy
The Corvette isn’t too thirsty considering a V-8 sits behind the driver.
Is the 2022 Chevrolet Corvette good on gas?
It’s not horrible, but not thrifty, either. Both the coupe and convertible are EPA-rated at 16 mpg city, 24 highway, 19 combined. That earns it a 3 here.
0 comments:
Post a Comment