Pros: History and mystique, Performance, Style, Top-down fun

Cons: Interior comfort, Suspension

The American icon sports car with a drop top. For many, this is the ultimate car, produced in one form or another since 1953. For us, it’s a lot of fun, with some reservations.

Since this is a convert, let’s get down to business and drop the top, which is pretty easy to do. Pull and twist a handle at the front of the folding top, then press and hold a button located left of the steering wheel on the dashboard. An artful ballet follows with the front half of the top going up, then the back half, with full heated glass, folds forward. A body panel just ahead of the trunk tilts upward and the entire top slips into the body -- and you’re off. Noteworthy about the top is that in the stowed position, you still have enough trunk space to accommodate enough items to sustain you during a weekend trip.

Performance is the Vette’s raison d’etre and in this it does not disappoint. Ample power flows smoothly from the V8 under all circumstances but satisfies most in day-to-day urban driving where low-end torque is most valued. The Vette grunts away from a stop with authority and pulls away from all competitors in the 20-50 mph range. At highway speeds, full throttle and a couple downshifts from the automatic are needed to pull away for a pass. This is more effort than one might think would be needed due to our automatic’s overdrive that has the engine loafing along at low rpm at highway speeds.  The overdrive assists mightily with fuel economy, but thre is just so much you can do when 400 horses want a drink. Given all the power and performance, mileage is decent, but you won’t win any fuel economy runs with the Vette.

Suspension has long been a bugaboo with past Corvettes in our opinion. The last we tested, a super high performance ZO6 version, had such a stiff set up that if you rolled over a dime in the road, you felt it. The less-than-smooth road surfaces in our area, especially on the pre-war highways, left the car bouncing all over the road. The new Magnetic Ride Control provides an antidote to the problem. If you’re out in the country on twisty smooth roads, select “sport.”  On the mean streets of the city, “tour” lets you glide smoothly over bumps while maintaining control. It’s a wonderful change that makes the car much more livable on a day-to-day basis.

The interior could offer a bit more room. The big center console will intrude on leg room for driver and passenger above a certain height.

Satellite navigation is a handy option that helps make sure you get to your destination without unneeded gas-burning detours. The factory-installed unit performs much better then the majority of aftermarket items you see hanging from many windshields these days.

This new Corvette continues in its iconic status with some needed upgrades that help make it more civil.