montoya

This is a detailed review of my new Grand Sport after almost 3,000 miles. I've posted a journal of my delivery and cross country trip here:https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...y-journal.html

This car is a wrap so more info in the corvette forum on that. This is intended to be my 'between' sports car while I wait for the 991.2 GT3



Review:

Exterior: I am pleasantly surprised at the quality of the exterior. All the BS about poor panel gaps etc. are a thing of the past. I never saw the paint on my car, but of those I’ve seen it’s been excellent. I also have grown to love the look of the rear of the C7, something I didn’t like before purchase. Of course, the overall look is great- somehow classy and sophisticated, while still muscular and aggressive.

Interior: Very good. Is it Porsche quality-no, but still excellent. There are some things I think could be improved, like the quality of the stalk ***** and having rain sensing wipers. The stitching and leather quality again is not up to Porsche standards, single seam stitching vs. French seams on the Porsche. I also have a seam on the top of the dash that is wavy too, so that is unfortunate. The quality of the leather on the steering wheel feels a little too plastic for my taste- I plan to change it out to suede soon. Seat comfort is very good, although on longer drives the bottom seat cushion somehow gets harder (competition seats). Really not a fair comparison to my GT3 with competition seats that had no adjustments, but the on the GS competition seats I could find a comfortable driving position easily. You had to adapt with the comp seats in the GT3.

Ride/Noise/Vibration/harshness: This is a big win for the GS, as the interior noise is greatly reduced from the GT3. This is mainly in the transmission of road noise from the tires. It’s not a huge difference but big enough to make daily driving tolerable compared to intolerable in the GT3. This Is on our rutted roads in the PACNW which have such a gravel like texture that is really a noise generator, especially with performance tires. For example, on my short 10 mile drive to work, the roads are so bad that I would simply just turn off the radio in the GT3 since to hear it at all the radio would be near maximum volume. In the GS I can actually hear the radio over the road noise. I won’t comment on engine note- IMHO both are excellent but different entirely. No question the sound of a flat 6 at 9000 rpm is unique and not comparable. Ride quality is better in the GS, more compliance and range of adjustability. Both are really sophisticated track cars, not rally cars, so both are not great dealing with really bad roads. I give the edge to the Vette as I have yet to have it skitter over bad pavement while that could happen with the GT3. Highway cruising the edge goes to the Vette as the GT3 was never comfortable unless the road was completely smooth.

Infotainment- Just no comparison. The electronics in the GS are better in every way. Voice command actually works, Apple car play is great and PDR is on another level. The weather data is a real plus as well. Having said all that there is a serious deficit with no HD radio. Sound quality is much better with the GS too. The GT3 stereo sound is pretty poor.

Steering feel- This is a big plus for the GT3. The GS steering never gives the quality of feedback in comparison. It feels a bit numb and artificial to me. Effort increases with the different modes almost too much and never ‘feels’ like the effort comes from the forces acting on the front wheels. It’s not so bad you don’t know what’s going on, just seems overly filtered or numb.

Handling- Just great. Like the GT3 the harder you push it the more you are impressed. I give the edge here to the GS due to its suspension compliance. The GS is much better at dealing with mid corner bumps almost like magic. There is a turn on my favorite road where the bump at apex always throws my sports cars off line. In the GS this bump almost disappears and the it doesn’t get thrown off. Amazing and probably the same feeling I’ve read on track reviews where the GS can jump apex curbing at will. If it wasn’t for the steering feel the overall impression of handling would be a huge plus to the GS, but the numbness of the steering dampens the overall experience. Still it’s like a difference between the characters of two fine wines. Both are great in their own way.

Engine and Power- This is GT3 all the way. The flat 6 is on another level and combined with the PDK acceleration is superior. The GS feels a little weak in comparison but the LT1 certainly has plenty of power, just a little less than the GT3. In the rush to redline the GT3 is truly magically especially as you reach 9K. The GS is more a brute force sledge hammer in comparison. Here’s where there is a real significant difference, although as seen in track comparisons it is not as significant in real performance on the track. However in the stop light grand prix the GT3 eats the GS for lunch everyday. I would characterize the LT1 motor in the GS as brutal and effective, but not sophisticated.

Gearbox- I love the the M7 so far. Not a real comparison to the GT3 since they are two different things. However, the clutch and shift action are really world class, no complaints during spirited driving. Perhaps 2nd and 3rd could be a little lower gear ratios as I found myself leaving it in 2nd around twisties a little too much. Cruising in top gear and downshifting is a little awkward and will take some getting used to. PDK in the GT3 for spirited driving is on another level, but for fun daily driving I’ll take the manual in the GS.

Brakes- In daily driving and spirited driving the Z07 brakes are crazy good. The GT3 steel brakes are also good, just a little less powerful. Modulation and pedal feel are equal in both. I haven’t felt any cold stop issues with the Z07 carbon brakes. They just work great all the time.

Overall- I’m impressed with GS so far and at half the cost of the GT3 it is a real bargain. Of course these impressions are still fresh off just buying the GS and can change over time, but the GT3 memory will fade too, so I feel this is as close to a back to back comparison as I will get.

I'll be posting this identical review on the Corvette Forum, so comparing comments will be interesting!

GrantG

Thanks for review! Could you post a link to the discussion on the Vette forum? Would be curious to check...

TRAKCAR

The early production ones had terrible paint and panel gap. I'm sure they fixed it.

Great car if I'd fit in it.

Will you track it?

Riz

I am looking into this car. What option packages do you have on it?

tasman

Looks awesome.

Jimmy-D

I am not a big Corvette fan from a styling, standpoint, but certainly respect the product they deliver and it appears the GS had been getting some really good reviews.

That was a great review and do like the color. What color is that??

montoya

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...991-1-gt3.html

No, this is just a driver. Race car for the track. Deal with the wife, street cars stay on the street now.

3LZ, Z07, M7

Thanks! The wrap came out better than expected!

Thanks!!
3M Gloss Burnt Orange. This is a match to BMW Fire Orange which is a very close match to McLaren Orange.

Drifting

appreciate your comments on the steering.

The recent Car and Driver review of the .2 GT3 was very positive other than they said the Vette steering feedback was better than the GT3 which I found hard to believe, particularly as the Vette steering is also electric. Your back to back comparison sounds much more believable.

robmypro

Sounds like a great car. Don't save it for the next guy.

GrantG

Thank you

john weires

Glad to hear Chevy continues to improve the Corvette. I have owned numerous ones over the years before switching to Porsche.

golfnutintib

i have a manual c7 z06 and enjoy it a lot... it is so smooth yet stable on track it feels like you are cheating... then you mat the throttle ... LMAO

z06 has much more front end grip than a 991 gt3 but less rear end grip when pushed hard (both on cup 2's)... only powering out of tighter turns does the 1 gt3 have a clear edge

the steering in the z06 is quite light (even in track mode) but it is very very informative... more info than 1gt3 but because of the lightness of the gt3 nose steering control in the gt3 feels more precise esp. at turn-in

of course on the straights and sweepers the power of the z06 is in another league entirely

drechsler

But wait....MSRP or ADM?






Couldn't resist. Great writeup and thanks for sharing your impressions. Fond memories here of bulletproof track days as a C5 Z06 owner. Those Auto Zone "lifetime rotors" were the deal of the century.

tgibrit

thanks for posting, I have been considering the Z06 for a while for track use, GM have something like a 250 days of inventory backlog on the Corvette so 10+% off MSRP is a given even on the GS or Z06.

GM warranty also covers track use.

montoya

Yes seems strange to me. I think the feeling of the front end understeering can be confused for loosing steering feel. Also, there could be some less than perfect calibration of my steering feel. This GS reminds me of my E92 M3, where different driving modes changed the steering effort. The difference here is that it makes sense to switch modes while driving from tour tour to sport to change the suspension, this also increases steering effort- which to me feels artificial.

Yes, that's the plan, less than ten days and the car has 3000 miles already!!

This is my first Corvette, so I'm coming from the other direction...

Nice looking Z06, no overheating issues? Manual Z06 and those built in 2016 and later have much better cooling I understand. See above on the steering feel- think you describe the positive aspect of the GT3 steering at turn in, where to me the GS lags behind.

Hahahaha! Great deals on dealer stock in May, mine was 10K off MSRP! Only downside the only one in stock that met my spec was in Georgia!!