2020 Chevy Corvette Stingray: Radically better, here's why the C8 could leave some fans behind

[MUSIC] Have you ever been on a speed date? You know one of those things where they get a bunch of strangers in a room and try to figure out if they like each other and want to spend more time with each other? Well, me neither, not my bag. But I tell you what is my bag, automotive speed dating, but I've gotten pretty darn good at it. Over the years. I've driven million dollar concepts, I've driven prototypes. I've even driven an F1 car and today I get to drive this This is the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette, the new mid engine car that i've been dying to drive since i was a little kid and it's finally here. Now i admit for me the new CH looks haven't always been love at first sight, i've always liked the rounded almost voluptuous looks of corvettes past but this new management current strikes me is more angular than organic A little bit of a paint by numbers mid engine supercar. That said the more time I spend around it in person, the more I'm coming around, your mileage may vary. [SOUND] Yes sir. [SOUND] That's impressive. [SOUND] So I've only got about 45 minutes behind the wheel here. So I'm going to make the most of. Of it. And what I noticed is it feels totally different right from the get go. Because the nose is so much shorter and your visibility outward is so much better. You don't have that long nose where the engine used to be but you do have fender piece. Which is an important thing for a Corvette because you want to know where you can place the wheels. Rear visibility straight up back through the rear view mirror, honestly, not so great as you'd expect. Because you've got a pane of glass right behind the seats And then you've got one before you get to the outside world. The good news is you actually have a digital display mirror that allows you a much broader field of view. [SOUND] Everything is extremely driver focused in the interior. Now you'd expect that with a sports car, but I really mean it here. You've got a very high center console with the HVAC controls and some other buttons. You've got this center infotainment screen that's canted very strongly toward the driver. If you're a passenger, this car really isn't for you, you just you get to enjoy the view out. Everything is about the driver here and I've got great access to the infotainment screen. It's within super easy reach, which is important because you don't want to take your hands off the wheel with a car that has 490 horsepower. One of the great things about this squirrel steering wheel is in addition to the fact that it feels awesome in the hands of three and nine and has these great big metallic floppy paddles, that just feel really good and make a nice sound when you click on them. One of the less great things is that the car is dual clutch, or no clutch, there's no manual transmission option like before, that's hardly unprecedented among modern supercars, and sports cars. But, it does signal a change of focus for the vet. One that's already upset more than a few of other faithful. Over the years GM has taken a lot of grief for corvette interiors. Now the last C7, I thought was a massive massive improvement, but this C8 is leagues ahead. The fit, the finish, this is a pre production car, and it looks like it came right off the line. It feels really, really solid. The materials are soft to the touch that you want to be soft to the touch. Everything is in the right place. They've just done a really nice job. So I'm no giant among men. I'm about five foot nine. I've got plenty of space in here you can easily clear a helmet. And I'm not anywhere near all the way back toward the firewall. So there's plenty of space and I have really easy access to all the controls. They did a really nice job. [SOUND] So the great thing about a mid engine architecture is that the back end of this car is just welded to the ground. You don't have any squirming under hard acceleration. Plus the right quality here is excellent regardless of whether you're in standard tour or sport modes. The new structure feels rock solid. So I really want a mountain road or, better yet, a closed race track to have fun with this car. I only have it for a very short period of time, but what I can tell you is that I am hugely impressed. The grip in this car is outstanding, the turning feel is excellent. They did their homework here. [BLANK_AUDIO] Package wise, right on, feels like a significantly smaller car. Much more wieldy than the old car. [BLANK_AUDIO] By comparison, the old C7 required some muscling around, a reality [UNKNOWN] toned by heavier inputs like the manual's clutch pedal and short throw shifter. The C8 is much more of a finesse car like a Porsche or a McLaren. For many of us, that's good news but it's a change that's probably gonna rub some traditionalists the wrong way as well. [SOUND] You cannot smile when looking at the Corvettes pricing too. It starts at just under 60 grand, thought my loaded 3lt with the z51 performance package, magnetic shocks, and heavy duty cooling runs nearly 86 k delivered. That's about the same as a well equipped caiman S which is a great car but it's a lot less powerful. Even loaded up, the c8 seems like an unbeatable value. Now that is something corvette loyalists should find comfortingly familiar [SOUND] [BLANK_AUDIO]