RE: Corvette C5: PH Carpool

RE: Corvette C5: PH Carpool

Monday 17th February 2014

Corvette C5: PH Carpool

One fresh-faced PHer proves that age need not be a barrier to owning a Yank V8



Name: Calum Campbell
Car: 2004 Corvette C5
Owned Since: November
Previously Owned: '94 Toyota MR2, '97 Toyota MR2 BEAMS

Big V8? Check. Head-Up Display? Check.
Big V8? Check. Head-Up Display? Check.
Why I bought it:
"As per most 22-year-olds, insurance dictates most of my available car choices. Amazingly, an optimistic quote search revealed the 5.7-lire Corvette as totally insurable, and not much more than my previous 2.0-litre MR2. With that, I began some research, attended a car show with some 'vette owners, and was hooked immediately."

What I wish I'd known:
"Still to be discovered! Three and a bit months of driving and circa 1,500 miles have revealed no faults, surprising frugality (37 UK mpg?!), excellent comfort and the mighty manliness of the LS1.

"Actually - I do wish I'd known beforehand just how low the front aero lip is... Rubber, meet speedbump. Oh, and how much an aftermarket exhaust system would cost! The one thing I really wish I'd known was how much this car fails to live up to the stereotype. It's not the useless barging Yank Tank I, and so many others, expected. It's not light nor is it narrow, but it is 50/50 balanced, enormously powerful, and extremely aerodynamic (one of its claims to fame, actually)."

'Surprising frugality' says our happy owner
'Surprising frugality' says our happy owner
Things I love:
"Torque. Removable roof. Manual gearbox. Affordability - fuel use has been frankly unbelievable for the performance, tax is cheap, and parts are readily available from the States (but with the MR2 you often had to import from Japan, so no change really). The car is also full of gadgetry that I am not used to and now couldn't do without: tyre pressure sensors, average fuel use calculators, a factory-fit heads up display, electrically adjustable seats and memory everything, demisting everything, and curiously a lap timer function. The owners' club are super friendly too."

Things I hate:
"Garnering the wrong sort of attention. It's brilliant, and hilarious, just how much on-street and car park appeal the car has from all sorts of onlookers. However, you do get nervous leaving it outside shops, you park it miles away in supermarkets, and overnight you go for remote areas over convenient ones. I have parked the car, walked twenty metres and looked back to see blokes peering in the glass and stroking the bonnet. Not to mention coming out to the car outside a bar at night and finding a girl posing on the bonnet. The only other downsides are almost all the other owners I've met are at least 10 years older than me, and there are almost none in Scotland; and the boy racers who want to test out their Saxo's limiter."

Scottish adventure an early ownership highlight
Scottish adventure an early ownership highlight
Costs:
"Expensive to purchase. Affordable to insure (check for yourself), easy to fuel and easy to tax. Servicing intervals are a breath of fresh air - first major service is 100,000 miles! Mine is only on 32,000, so a fair way to go. On the other hand, some documented issues - one particular one involving the steering column lock - but most you can sort out pre-emptively and cheaply."

Where I've Been:
"Best adventure: the Rannoch Moors, to watch the winter sunrise in the highlands. We set off after midnight and awoke around 7am, one of the best experiences of 2013. Even a rumble through old-town Edinburgh is just brilliant in this car, though. It's as sublime to drive slowly as it is to drive quickly, albeit in a totally different way."

What next:
"At the moment, I can't see past it. On the other hand, you could take that literally and admit it is a little bit big (almost 1.9 metres wide...) and that can be troublesome when it comes to parking, or narrow B-roads. Still, it gives it its undeniable presence, so I suppose it's a trade-off. I'll probably oscillate hugely next time and buy a Lotus or a Noble, but it won't be for years yet, and I'm not sure I can go back to four cylinders."


Want to share your car with PHers on Carpool? Email us at carpool@pistonheads.com!





   
Author
Discussion

Boydie88

Original Poster:

3,283 posts

148 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
Straight to the classifieds I go...

4a4

213 posts

134 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
Cool as fk.

You sir are a true PHer

boobles

15,241 posts

214 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
bow

Beefmeister

16,482 posts

229 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
Not fans of the front of the car then? wink

diluculophile

130 posts

250 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
I don't get 37 mpg out of my 1.6 focus.

Perhaps it's the way I drive...

LovesSweetExile

22,722 posts

233 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
Now that's the right attitude to being a car enthusiast.

JayUK91

71 posts

161 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
Awesome! Shame about the lack of decent pictures though!

Go on then, tell us how much your insurance was... biggrin

anonymous-user

53 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
These are truly stunning cars - I had one for 12 years. Great looks, stonking performance, bomb-proof reliability, cheap to run. Utterly brilliant!

So how do you follow that? Check out the new Corvette C7 stingray threads.... driving

Twoshoe

847 posts

183 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
37mpg??!! Really?

ewenm

28,506 posts

244 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
thumbup Good to hear an enthusiast talk about their car thumbupdriving

anonymous-user

53 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
My own fuel experience during 52,000 miles of ownership,

5 USA said:
Overall fuel consumption on my C5 Vette with 4-speed auto transmission was 25 mpg. (Manual cars and 6-speed auto Vettes will be between 25 and 30).

Astounding performance. Astounding value. driving

j_s14a

863 posts

177 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
37mpg? Perhaps being driven like a granny, on a very long run.

I'd love a 'vette, but my local fun roads make LHD totally impractical frown

nonplussed

3,338 posts

228 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
Epic PH factor. Well done that man, I'm green with envy. I can't run one of those at 41, never mind 22.

snorky

2,322 posts

250 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
first service at 100,000 - I read this about the Northstar engines too.
surely an oil/plugs change before then???

Otispunkmeyer

12,557 posts

154 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
push-rods FTW!

Bash Brannigan

211 posts

186 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
Best Carpool for ages! Thanks for sharing.

ED209

5,740 posts

243 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
37 mpg?? thats the same as i got from a 1.4 scirocco and the mrs gets from her astra gtc, its better than the mk1 mx5!

Where do i sign?

Amebix

45 posts

153 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
Sublime mate, Much respect - I'm 22 and threads like like this make me wish I'd tried harder at school biggrin

y2blade

56,029 posts

214 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
AWESOME cars these cloud9


Clivey

5,108 posts

203 months

Monday 17th February 2014
quotequote all
LovesSweetExile said:
Now that's the right attitude to being a car enthusiast.
yes And at 22 - Nicely done! thumbup