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.

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

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

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!