2023 Chevrolet Corvette Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The current generation was introduced for the 2020 model year and it set the sports-car world ablaze. The Corvette is offered in Coupe and Convertible body styles, which is ironic, because even the coupe has a removable roof panel, making it a “Targa top.” For our money, we’d stick with the coupe over the convertible that we drove. With the coupe, you can still see the V8 engine through a glass panel. With the Stingray Convertible, the engine is hidden beneath multiple layers of paneling. You can see it through tiny vents in the rear. Speaking of vents, the massive side intakes give the Corvette the presence of a mid-engine Ferrari supercar.

The driver does benefit from a small window beneath the seats that has helpful defrosting elements. The cockpit is very driver-focused—more so than previous Corvettes. The centre console acts as a barrier between the driver and the front passenger, and heavily favours the driver.

All of the comfort and climate controls run in a single line along this barrier. This could be the strongest example of function taking a way-back seat to form, and there is a learning curve. In a complete reversal of this philosophy, the touchscreen completely interrupts the flow of the dash, but is in an ideal position and has an intuitive layout. This cabin has all the disconnected busyness of a Michael Bay movie.

Both body styles are broken down into 1LT, 2LT, and 3LT trims. Standard features on the base 1LT includes 19-inch front wheels, 20-inch rear wheels, a fully digital instrument panel, eight-way power adjustable GT1 bucket seats (driver and passenger), leather upholstery and a leather-wrapped steering wheel, an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and a Bose 10-speaker stereo system.

Moving up to the 2LT adds navigation, a performance data and video recorder, a 14-speaker Bose stereo system, heated and ventilated seats with available suede inserts, a heated steering wheel, driver’s seat lumbar control, wireless device charging, interior cargo nets, and a head-up display.

The 3LT trim level adds GT2 bucket seats, as well as added soft-touch leather surfaces throughout the cabin. We drove the 3LT convertible with the 70th Anniversary Package, which adds red seat belts, unique black wheels with a red pinstripe, unique 70th Anniversary badging, and other special design elements. With the heated seats, heated steering wheel, and the windows raised, we were able to drive the Corvette convertible deep into northern cold November weather.

There is always a struggle between tradition and innovation with the Chevy Corvette. It seeks to innovate, but it also wants to retain its core buyers. This is a struggle highlighted with brands such as Harley-Davidson. Rather than ride its core customers off into the sunset like Harley, GM opted for youthful vigour when it finally moved its engine behind the driver, as Zora Arkus-Duntov had always wanted.

The beating heart of the Corvette’s powertrain is its mid-mounted naturally aspirated V8 engine. In terms of specs, it displaces 6.2 litres, puts out 490 horsepower, and develops 465 pound-feet of torque. Our test model featured the optional Performance Exhaust, which brings horsepower up to 495 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque. Power is routed to rear-wheel drive (RWD) through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Many will lament the downfall of the manual transmission, but GM says the dual-clutch transmission was necessary in order to achieve the mid-engine packaging (we wonder what ole’ Zora would have thought of that). GM also says it allows for improved acceleration. With the Z51 Performance Pack (more on that in a minute) the Corvette can sprint from zero to 96 kilometres per hour in 2.9 seconds. Coupe models without the Z51 package can hit a top speed of 312 km/h on the track.

Our test model came equipped with the Z51 Performance Package. We’d recommend this popular option package, as it adds a performance rear-axle ratio, heavy-duty cooling system, electronic limited-slip differential, performance tires, and an upgraded rear spoiler to aid aero. The only difference is that our test model came equipped with winter-performance tires, rather than the normal Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. This is because we were piloting the Corvette in the north in November. Summer performance tires start to lose their grip in the cold. Think about it—if you ever watch a racing event, the drivers are darting left to right before the start of the race to warm their tires up. In the cold, you’ll never get up to that operating range, so winter tires are a must for anyone looking to drive in the winter.

The Corvette Stingray provides extremely quick acceleration, as well as precise cornering. But it does so with little drama. We almost wanted it to feel some sort of sensation of nearing its limits, but you won’t find the Corvette’s limits (or even come close) unless you are on a racetrack. There is a Track mode, as well as Sport, Tour, Weather, MyMode, and Z-Mode. Most are self-explanatory, but Z-Mode is another customizable mode for quick-changing into a hardcore performance mode.

One of the Corvette’s great tricks is its multiple personalities. In Sport or Track, the Corvette is a well-trained athlete. But in Tour, the magnetic ride control, steering, and drivetrain all soften up, making the C8 comfortable for sitting in traffic or putting away the klicks on a long road trip. This dual personality complex makes the Corvette a surprisingly versatile sports car.

Speaking of versatility, the Corvette offers front and rear trunks for your gear. The trunk behind the engine spans the width of the car and is large enough for at least one golf bag. The front trunk, or “frunk,” holds at least one weekend bag and a backpack. Together, these make the Corvette actually livable for a long road trip. Unlike many exotic cars, you can pack multiple bags, and it has a combined cargo space of 356 litres. The rear trunk lid has a power soft-close function so that you don’t need to slam it.

With the convertible top in the “up” position, there’s not a lot of headroom for taller drivers. The way the seat and steering wheel adjust, you’ll either get desired headroom or desired legroom—but not both. Those taller drivers will need to find a very specific driving position so as not to hit their heads constantly.

Our test model also came with the optional lifting front axle. This is an immensely helpful feature, as the low-slung Corvette has dramatic bodywork that can easily scrape when entering or exiting a steep garage or driveway. This also makes it easy to clear speed bumps without worrying about the car’s bodywork.

As mentioned, the Corvette’s standard 8-inch touchscreen protrudes inorganically from the dash, but that’s to the driver’s benefit. The screen is tilted towards the driver and features Chevy’s Infotainment 3 system that’s similar to that found in Buick and GMC vehicles. In addition to Bluetooth, OnStar capability, and wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto connectivity, it has a logical menu layout. The icons are large and easy to read. On the upper-left corner of the screen, a volume dial and a Home button make navigating this system a snap.

Our only issues related to the radio were the volume and channel-change buttons. These are located on the steering wheel as a series of paddle buttons tucked well down out of where you’d expect. They feel like an afterthought and can easily get lost on this busy, complex steering wheel.

The Corvette features a fully digital instrument panel that changes themes with each drive mode. The more high-performance drive modes get a more focused, simplified screen. The Tour mode features more general information for the driver. This is echoed in the helpful head-up display.

The 2023 Corvette comes standard with a backup camera, a full array of front- and side-impact airbags in addition to rear parking sensors. What you won’t find is any kind of modern driver assistance feature. Forward-collision avoidance, lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high beams are not even available as options. That’s a glaring omission for a vehicle that was all-new in 2020. With the lack of a manual transmission, we’d figured such tech features would be easier to implement. It should be noted that many new exotic cars still lack these features, but Chevy is a high-volume brand, and offering such safety tech could have given the Corvette another advantage over its more expensive rivals.

The 2LT trim adds blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and GM’s rear camera mirror. Under normal operation, the rear camera mirror just acts like a mirror, but with the flip of a switch (the switch that’s usually for “night mode” on the mirror), it activates a camera on the rear part of the roof. It presents a reverse image on the rearview mirror. This is helpful due to the Corvette’s high rear deck and rear wing. There are cars that will not show up on the conventional mirror but will show up on the rear camera mirror. The only downside (for the convertible) is that the camera only works with the roof in the up position. When the convertible’s roof stows away, so does the camera.

The most efficient version of the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette is the base 6.2-litre V8-equipped model. It returns fuel economy of 15.0 litres per 100 kilometres in city driving, 9.8 on the highway, and 12.7 combined. In our week of combined city and highway driving, we observed fuel economy of 13.1 L/100 km. But some owners have observed even better than the estimated ratings. A V8 is all about how you drive it. The new Z06 returns fuel economy of 19.4 L/100 km city, 11.4 highway, 15.8 combined.

Base new car MSRP for the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette is $75,803 for the hardtop and $84,803 for the convertible. For the Corvette Coupe, the 2LT trim starts at $85,803 and the 3LT starts at $91,803. A 3LT Convertible like our test model starts at $100,803. The Z51 Performance Package costs $7,495 and the 70th Anniversary Edition Package costs another $6,995. Our test model also came with the front-axle lift system ($3,180), and Magnetic Selective Ride Control performance suspension ($2,180), bringing the price of our test model to $123,747, including a destination charge of $2,295.

The Corvette is not as scalpel-precise as a Mercedes-AMG GT, but it offers nearly the same level of performance and comfort. There will be subsequent versions of the Corvette that elevate the performance. They will have names like Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and ZR1, and there will even be an AWD hybrid version. But the performance delivered by the Corvette Convertible with the Z51 package is more than most drivers will ever get to use. This mid-engine sports car’s incredible aerodynamics and performance make high-speed driving feel effortless, making an average driver look like a professional. For our money, there are other cars (like the new Nissan Z) that offer plenty of performance and are more comfortable to drive. But if you want to look the part of being able to take on the world, the mid-engine Corvette now has that target on its back—for better or for worse.

Note: Images and video show a US model.