Chevrolet Corvette Stingray review

If you are the driver of the C8 Vette, the cabin is a focused, info-rich place to be. The configurable dash contains all the relevant info in proper modern graphics – a big improvement on the C7 – and the optional head-up display lets you focus on the road. It’s all very fighter jet-ish.

Just not always in a good way. Yes, the odd-shaped steering wheel’s flat top frames the instruments and the flat bottom gives your legs clearance, but it looks awful and is awkward when you’re changing hand grips.

The driver feels cocooned thanks to the large column of HVAC switches between the driver and passenger compartment. The passenger on the other hand, is rather cut-off and out of it the other side of a dividing wall. It’s not a very companionable cabin. And, in the absence of a hero handle, passengers use it to steady themselves when the car is cornering hard. This can play havoc with all the cabin heat and cooling settings.

How’s the quality?

It’s a big step on. Corvette has clearly realised that if they want to take the car upmarket, every area needs to be addressed. Materials, design and layout are all satisfying. There are three types of seat available – the base, GT2 and Competition. We drove cars with the latter two and they are as good as, if not better than, most other supercar seats we have sat in.

And there are numerous extras you can spec – a wireless smartphone charger is a small but nice touch, as is the axle lift with a GPS memory for up to 1,000 different locations, and, if you hate the sound of a curbed wheel as much as us, have the front curb view HD camera.

What about storage space?

The cabin itself is quite tightly packaged, but those useful load bays at either end do make it a capable car for long trips and weekends away. Between them the boots total 357 litres – which is a match for most superminis. Unsurprisingly, stuff does get hot in the rear one – and you do lose that entirely when the coupe’s roof panel is detached and stored.