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Road Test: 2009 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible car review; Top this
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When one spends $72,160 on a convertible, one should expect sunny weather as standard equipment. Our test 2009 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible, however, even with a base price of $53,220, the 4LT Premium Equipment group and a passel of other options with price tags of $1,195 to $1,995, didn’t include a “Blue Skies” package anywhere on the list at any price.
Perhaps that’s why during the ten days we borrowed the ‘vertible Vette there was only one certifiably sunny day and on that, of course, while were otherwise occupied. Otherwise the weatherman’s forecast graphics showed an unrelenting parade of clouds with little diagonal dashes underneath, signifying rain. And for once the weatherman was right.
On the other hand, to paraphrase Bob Dylan, you don’t have to be a weatherman to know which way the Vette goes. And a convertible Corvette, even with the top up, is…well, what we’re here to discuss.
For 2009, Chevrolet introduced a new 1LT Corvette Convertible to make it more accessible—that means not quite as expensive—if one is willing to pull the top up manually and suffer other such indignities. With the Convertible Vette we were offered, we skipped blithely by even the 2LT Corvette Convertible with its standard power top, which incidentally isn’t fully automatic. Rather a twist of a handle on the windshield header is required to unlatch and lock the top in place. It can require a good tug to reattach the top, however, so it’s not for weenies, particularly if weenies have weather like ours and have to do a lot of reps.
One could argue that the entire Corvette, even a standard LS3-powered coupe or convertible, isn’t for weenies. And one would be right. The LS3 6.2-liter V-8 was introduced last year to replace the puny LS2 6.0-liter V-8’s 400 horsepower with a much more desirable 430 horses. Credit the added displacement but also the better breathing, large valve-large port LS7-style cylinder heads.Unreconstructed fans of manly manual shifters that we are, we’d prefer the 6-speed Tremec TR6060 we recently enjoyed in the soon-to-be-history 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP, but the transmission in the provided test Corvette Convertible was a 6-speed automatic, albeit with paddle shifting. More Corvettes are sold with that $1,250 option than not, so we were obliged to soldier through. Like we were going to say no
Our test Vette also came equipped with Magnetic Selective Ride Control, which allows the driver to select between tour and sport suspension modes—read “firm” and “firmer”—as part of a package that also includes larger cross-drilled brake rotors, all for five bucks under two grand. It does what it’s paid to do. Think of it as a sharp handling Corvette that can relax for an otherwise pounding ride over denture rattling highways. Or consider it a grand tourer whose ride can be honed for assaults on twisty roads. One would be correct either way.
View the Picture Gallery below for even more photos of the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible.
An entertaining option and one providing an extra six horsepower is Dual Mode exhaust. Look up the exhaust pipes and above them are a pair of pistons and linkage connected to what look like throttle plates. With the plates closed, the Corvette is a model citizen of quietude. Punch it, however—or bring revs up to 4000--for and the intake manifold vacuum-controlled plates to flip open. The change in volume and timbre is like the Vette went to assertiveness training. Excuse me, I’m the Corvette on this block.
Secret tip: Pulling a fuse leaves the Dual Mode exhaust in the open/loud mode continuously, but kits are available that replace the fuse with an on-off switch. Enterprising Corvette owners have even linked it to a Homelink button Of course, it would be easy to just to leave the fuse out but the exhaust drone at highway speeds can be annoying, we’re told, and there are times one would prefer to tiptoe home at late at night. Anyway, who wants to drown out e that optional Bose audio system? Invest in the switch.
Our test Corvette Convertible had optional chrome aluminum wheels wholly lacking in subtlety and the optional navigation system, plus the big option package, the LT4 roundup that includes Bose audio (see above), head-up display, heated seats, the power convertible top and much more.
The proximity key is standard, however, with touch pads inside the openings at the rear edge of the door that release the latches via servos. Neophyte passengers will have to be told how. It adds a bit to the Corvette’s aura. First-timers won’t be able to get out, either, until they find the right button on the door. Either way, the door releases with a solid ka-chunk. Are you ready for this, pilgrim?
The trunklid has no key but is opened by the key fob or a button somewhere inside. Despite the Corvette Convertible’s half acre of rear deck space, one likely thinks Chevrolet’s would have no more than a vestigial trunk. One would be wrong. With the top up, the Convertible Corvette has 11 cubic feet of cargo capacity. With the top down it shrinks to 7.5 cubic feet. Anyone who needs more luggage capacity doesn’t deserve a Corvette, or at least should take lessons in traveling light. Or just get it over with and check into the Shady Rest Retirement Home with a terminal case of atrophied adventure gland.
Likewise one shouldn’t complain about the glass half empty of a Corvette Convertible with the top up. It’s true that the convertible top transmits more ambient noise—such as that semi in the next lane—than the coupe’s solid structure, but that’s part and parcel of the convertible experience. But it also means that glorious exhaust is more audible as well (see dual mode exhaust switch above). Score one for the convertible Corvettes with the top up. Then too, the top’s fabric is tight as a tympani head but, well, without the drumming. Also, at 1,500 miles, our test Vette was rattle and relatively shake free, though the coupe is noticeably stiffer. However, it’s a better place to start than the rattlematic Corvettes of yore.It almost seems silly to report that the Corvette Convertible is fast. Who needs to say that when 430 horsepower meets a 3,222 lb curb weight, it leaves the world behind? Who cares what roof is overhead? The glass half full is a Corvette that can open its top on the days the weatherman’s forecast includes those little yellow circles. Those are suns. The Corvette Convertible is fun with the top up, but it’s a gas when the top goes down.
Illustrations: 2009 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible; 2009 LS3 6.2-liter V-8; 2009 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible interior. All photos by John Matras. Copyright John Matras Media LLC 2009.
| Engine | 6.2L/436-hp OHV V-8 |
| Block/cylinder head material | Aluminum/aluminum |
| Displacement, cc / cubic inches | 6162 / 376 |
| Compression ratio | 10.7:1 |
| Valvetrain | Overhead valves/ two valves pre cylinder |
| Recommended fuel | Premium recommended but not required |
| Horsepower @ rpm* | 436 @ 4600 |
| Torque, lb-ft @ rpm* | 428 @ 4600 |
| Transmission | 6-speed automatic, paddle shift |
| Suspension, front | Short/long arm double A-arm, cast aluminum upper & lower control arms, transverse-mounted composite leaf spring, montube shocks |
| Suspension, rear | Short/long arm double A-arm, cast aluminum upper & lower control arms, transverse-mounted composite leaf spring, monotube shocks |
| Brakes, front/rear | discs/discs, cross-drilled rotors (with Magnetic Ride Control) |
| Wheels, front/rear, in. | 18 x 8.5 / 19 x 10 |
| Tires, front/rear size | 245/40ZR18 / 285/35ZR19, Goodyear Extended Mobility |
| Layout | Two-door front-engine rear-drive convertible |
| Construction | Composite body panels, hydroformed steel frame with aluminum and magnesium structural and chassis components |
| Dimensions and capacities | |
| Wheelbase, in. | 105.7 |
| Length, in. | 174.6 |
| Width, in. | 72.6 |
| Height, in. | 49.0 |
| Cargo volume, cu ft, top up/down | 11.0 / 7.5 |
| Fuel tank, U.S. gal. | 18.0 |
| Curb weight, lbs. | 3222 |
| Performance | |
| Fuel mileage, EPA mpg, city/highway | 15/25 |
| Fuel mileage, observed, mpg | 18 / 28 |
| Base price | $53,220 |
| Mechanical: Active handling, traction control, speed-sensitive variable-ratio power steering, limited-slip differential | std. |
| Safety: Frontal airbags, anti-lock brakes | std. |
| Exterior: Power heated outside mirrors with driver dimming, heated glass rear window, Xenon high intensity discharge headlamps, fog lamps | std. |
| Interior: AM/FM stereo, CD player, input jack, XM satellite radio, auto dual-zone comate control, floor mats, auto-dimming compass rear view mirror, cruise control, leather seating surfaces/steering wheel, 6-way driver power seat, power locks/windows, steering wheel radio controls | std. |
| 4LT Premium Equipment Group: AM/FM stereo/6-discs CD changer, Bose premium 7-speaker audio system, head-up display, power telescoping wheel, heated seats, memory, side-impact airbags, 6-way passenger seat, bluetooth, power convertible top, | 10,050 |
| Magnetic Selective Ride Control: includes larger cross-drilled rotors | 1,995 |
| Forged chrome aluminum wheels | 1,850 |
| Navigation system | 1750 |
| Transmission, 6-speed paddle-shift automatic | 1,250 |
| Dual mode exhaust | 1,195 |
| Destination charge | 850 |
| Total vehicle price | $72,160 |
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