Finally drove a C6 - not the least bit impressed

[RocketSled]

So this week I rented a Hertz C6 while on a business trip to CA. Wow, was I not impressed in the least. I didn't think the interior was very nice at all. I particularly didn't like the way the passenger-side dashboard looked, nor did I think the design of the door panels and door handles was particularly "organic". Lots of straight lines with abrupt terminations that made the features look "tacked on" rather than "designed in". And while I'm willing to cut the car some slack for Hertz's choice of color, the exterior was IMO even worse. It was hard to get past the hideous combination of canary yellow and black stripes. Every time I walked up to the car I thought "what were they thinking? was someone drunk when they made this decision? It looks like someone threw up on the drawing board!" How come when Hertz did the GT Mustang back in the 60s they chose a tasteful black with gold stripe color scheme but for the Vette they went with this gaudy combination? Did they want it to look bad on purpose?

On the plus side, the convenience features were nice. I liked the push-button start and the electric door latches. I got used to not having to take a key out of my pocket right away. And the stereo is quite a bit better, with a richer "range" and more bottom than the stock C5 Blose system.

Admittedly, this was a 'vert, so the fact that the chassis didn't feel better than I thought it would wasn't much of a surprise. But overall, I rate the car an "eh". My C5 feels more connected and IMO it sure looks a heck of a lot prettier (even overlooking the horrible color scheme).

I also noted that according to my GPS, the Hertz speedo read about 5% high. I suspect this is intentional on the part of Hertz. And I'm guessing the extra cheap interior finish (which looked much more "plasticy" than my C5's interior) is another intentional rental-car motivated decision.

But since I'm too lazy to go down to the local Chevy dealer to look at a "real" C6 for comparison purposes, I thought I'd ask anyone who went to a C6 from a C5 your opinions... How much better do you think the C6 actually is? Is my bad impression simply a function of Hertz's bad choices or is there some foundation to my disdain?

[zeta08]

I rented a charger hemi and decided it was detuned. My wrx would have eaten that "muscle car ". As for the vette interior, I've never really noticed mine...in general people including me get attached and used to their cars. I'm sure I'll find faults with the c7. Especially the 4 banger under the Hood. ; )

[PerforminNorman]

I had exactly the opposite opinion when I drove my first C6 back in late 2004.

[Z06~Acclaim]

I agree with Norm. I drove a 2003 Z06 for a couple of years and loved every minute of it, but when I finally drove a C6, I had a whole new appreciation for the car, and this was the white coupe at the time. My first drive in a C6 Z06 was actually at Z06 Fest and I was really hooked as evidenced by our recent purchase.

[lar66bb]

I have owned a C5 coupe, C5 convt, C5 Z06 as far as looks I tend to agree the C5 is a more attractive car. But that is where the advantage ends. The C6/Z06 that I currently own is a far superior car in handling, performance and
just plain driving pleasure. But then again, each to his own. I just know
I wouldn't trade back.

[XFordGuy]

The last time I commented that I preferred the C6Z over the C5Z when driven back to back on a road course, I was informed that my opinion was incorrect

[YumaZ06]

My son has a friend who is a manager at a local Hertz place and he lets him rent a Corvette for the weekend (when they are not rented out) for $29 a day. He has come to Arizona with 3 Hertz rentals (will not talk about the Mustang GT-H (dog)). We had some spirited runs with his rentals vs my C5Z06 and my Z blew them away big time. He let me drive each one and they seemed sluggish, so I am betting that they know people are going to beat the snot out of them so they have them de-tuned. Both cars he came down in had less than 2,000 miles on them so they were relatively fresh cars.

I think that you need to go to a dealership and drive one, then give us your opinion.

[velocityc6]

So the OP finds the interior better on a C5, better looks on a C5, and better driving expirience in the C5. Clean sweep in all catagories. Glad you love your C5 but time to take the blinders off.......especially if you think the interior is worse?!?

[RocketSled]

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

The Hertz interior is unquestionably worse. The door panels are plastic, they look like plastic and they feel like plastic. I just don't know if that's a function of decisions Hertz made or is generic. The C5 panels are plastic, too, of course, but they at least look and feel like they might be leather. I also did not like how humongous the passenger-side dash looked. I didn't sit in the passenger seat, but from the driver's side it looked disproportionately large, leaving the dash with an unbalanced feel to it, like the two sides of the car were designed by different people. I also really didn't like the door pull/arm rest design, it doesn't flow and merge in to the door panel like on a C5, but literally looks like it's bolted on to an otherwise flat surface.

My biggest problem with the car, since I first saw it, is that visually I find the C6 design to be much less appealing, but art is in the eye of the beholder. The C6Z looks substantially better than the plain-jane C6, since one of my biggest problems with the C6 are the large flat looking (or nearly flat) body panel surfaces, which make the car appear kind of "unfinished". The C6Z addresses that issue nicely through the addition of fender flares and scoops that "break up" the otherwise uninterrupted panel lines. But overall, I've always had a problem with the proportions of the car and the fact that Chevy went away from the more "organic" curving coke bottle shape of the C5 in favor of more sharply "creased" panel lines. That's clearly part of their "design ethic", though, as similar elements are evident in the Caddys.

Admittedly, the car I drove was a rental fleet custom configuration (the Hertz Corvettes even boast Hertz-specific fender badges). I have little trouble believing that they had GM de-tune the car's performance (and the fact that the speedo read high furthers that supposition - this is a digital speedometer, there's not a lot of ways for it to be "out of calibration"). I'm willing to "squint" hard and overlook the hideous color scheme and interior finish choices. But I'm driving an 8 year old C5Z which has seen more than its fair share of abuse at my hand. It's still a strong performer, but realistically I have to believe it's getting a bit tired. I expected a new C6 with the same factory-rated HP as my Z originally had to be markedly better. It wasn't. I found that to be both surprising and disappointing.

Yuma, you're probably right in that I need to go try an "real" C6 instead of relying on my impressions of the rental...

[wtxz10]

"but art is in the eye of the beholder"

You are absolutely correct! Am I'm 180 opposite your observation.

Cheers,
Kris

[velocityc6]

Since your hating on the Hertz C6 so bad, your bad mouthing the C6......a new C6 still has the same interior layout!

I found the C5 to have a horribly out-dated interior that belonged in a car from the early 90's. The soft round lines of the C5 remind me of a Ford Probe and also are very dated looking today, the oval tailights look as if Ford's oval Taurus of 1996 was looked at for design influence. Pop up headlights have poor visibility defeating their purpose and function. The huge ass is big for no reason and ugly imo.I can go on and on about things I don't like about the C5

The C5 did nothing for me and I skipped the generation entirely, but when I saw the C6 I was hooked. It was as if GM "fixed" everything I didn't like about the C5, the C6 was vastly upgraded on the interior, the keyless entry system, the design was fresh and purposeful, instead of 2 engines available during the C5 production run, GM has kept up and surpassed many competitors with 4 different motors of varying power output during the C6 production run.....my personal favorite is the 427ci LS7.

The issue I have is you've come into a C6 section and bashed the car to no end......sorta like a red sox fan talking crap out loud about the yankees in yankee stadium.

Perhaps your thread would be more warmly welcomed in the C5 section

[2MchFun]

Like the man said - beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I still have my C5Z because I still love the way it looks. The roof line (no "hatch-back", the headlights, etc. just appeals to me more than the C6. ...and the C6 ass is actuall higher than the C5.

[vant]

It's interesting that of all the generations of Corvette, spanning an incredible 57 years, the C5 and C6 share by far the most commonalities. Heck, most "regular folk" can't even tell the difference half the time, but it's almost always sure to brighten their day just to see one.

Being enthusiasts on the other hand, we sometimes take a more critical approach, nit-picking the smallest of details. C5ers sometimes feel like we're not allowed to openly criticize the C6 or we'll be labeled a hater. C6ers can't criticize the C5 or they'll be labeled a douche. The bottom line is that neither car is perfect.

But you know what, it's OK that they're not perfect. I don't think I could consider myself a enthusiast if I overlooked the flaws. Otherwise, how can I truely appreciate the wonderful aspects of the car as well?

And it's the same arguments every time. "The C5's popups are soooo 80's."
"Yeah, well the C6 headlights make it look like every other car on the road with a chopped off rear end."
"Oh no you di-ent!! The C5 has a big butt!"
"What's wrong with big butts? It looks good on your wife."
"You son-o-bitch! She's on Nutrisystem!"

....I umm, where was I? Anyways, you get the point. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm late for my "Daily Affirmations". Cuz gosh darnit, I'm good enough, smart enough....

[zeta08]

The C5Z is nice for racing because the parts are cheaper and the frame is steel. Other than that, I think the C6Z looks way better. The interior, as I posted above, doesn't really interest me other than the ergonomics, which for me are nearly perfect on the C6 without even the telescopic SW. I "heel and toe" the old fashioned way, heel on the brake, toe on the go pedal - some get an aftermarket pedal to use inner and outer toe areas - I find my way (which is different from my other cars I drive) very easy to adapt to. When I switch cars on road trips with my dad and drive his '65, I can hardly stay on the road cuz I can't take my eyes off my car! Sounds sort of conceited, but to me, a great car is like a work of art...And of course, art is subjective.

[zeta08]

And anyway, I'm 8 (now 7) posts away from 500, so there!!!!!!!!!!!!!