Guys sorry to say that I sold my 08 Z for a 09 CTS-V. I must be getting soft in my old age! Took the V for a cruz and just had to have the Recaro' seats!!! These seats should be standard in the Z's that was the main reason that swayed me to trade my Z. I sure do like 556 HP and 551 TQ. V has a nice rumble at idle and quite on the highway until you jumo in to the SC. This V hauls the mail with ease!!! Had to school a couple of my vette club members when they tried grandpa's caddie!!!!! I'll keep checking in on you guys while I'm over @ CTS-V forum. It's been a great ride! Save the Wave I'll keep waving to you guys!
Pickedv up my 09 V in Feb. and it is definitely one of the premium Performance Sedans available today. Comparable, and better in many ways than anything Europe and Japan offers.
Still though when I get in my 06 Z06 (78,000 Miles) its a totally different animal and even after this many miles and 3.5 years I still love driving it.
I feel great knowing I drive two of the best North American cars ever produced.
Anyways you'll love your new V.
Bought the V after GM bought back the Z in April. I agree with the Recaro's they should be standard in the Vette. I told myself I'd only drive the V on weekends but hell I am addicted to the power and handling of this car. I guess when winter gets here I'll have to park it for a little while.
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09 CTS V, Black Raven/Ebony/Recaro's/Auto/Polished Wheels/Nav/Ultraview
08 Trailblazer SS Black Granite (Wife's DD)
08 Z06 Jet Stream Blue 3LZ Ebony/Linen, Polished Wheels (Lemon Lawed)
07 Z06 Velocity Yellow (SOLD!! 06/08)
04 Z06/Z16 (#1272), (Sold 08/07)
96 Grand Sport Coupe #487 (SOLD 05/04)
Congrat's...those thing are freakin' fast as hell
I thought about trading my Lexus GS430 in on one, but don't want payments again...everything's paid for, including my Z
Those auto V's are just as fast as the 6 speed manuals...kept bumping that thing off the rev limiter...amazing car
how do you guys like the v after driving a z just based on a daily driver status with the occasional nice jump on the on ramps.?
I traded my '07 Z06 in for a new V back in April. Here are my 4+ month thoughts on the matter.
Executive summary: The V is an AWESOME car. But I miss my Z06.
For daily driver use, there's no comparison between the two cars. The V is WAY better than any of the available Corvettes. My reasons:
Seats - Really. The heated/cooled Recaros are second to none in any car I've ever been in. They're infinitely adjustable, incredibly comfortable, and superbly supportive. Wow. Unfortunately, even if they could fit in the Corvette (which they can't), they're insanely heavy. Before the mounting brackets and tracks are added, the seats alone are 55 pounds each.
Entertainment/Navigation - No comparison. The Alpine-built unit in the CTS is so much more user-friendly and usable than the piece-of-sh1t Denso unit in the Corvette. It's almost laughable that the Corvette continues to use that crud. The screen is nicer, the stereo sounds better, and it has built-in iPod connectivity as well as MP3-playing capability (ie, connect a thumb drive full of MP3s to the USB port, and it just plays 'em).
Overall Interior Comfort - Hard to really put in words. The V is just NICER inside than the Corvette is.
Overall Suspension Comfort - The V engineers at HPVO worked a lonnnnnnnng time to make sure the RTD, sway bars, springs, and tires(!) worked well together to not only provide a phenomenal-handling sedan, but one that is also incredibly comfortable to drive. It soaks up bumps, heaves, etc in the road so much better than the Corvette can. Even a Corvette equipped with RTD.
As for handling, the V is a super-star among 4-door sedans! That has to be emphasized. It will not out-handle a Corvette. It may match up against a Z51-equipped LS3 Corvette, but it certainly won't beat it. And it'll get trounced by a Z06 or ZR1, handily.
Handling performance is achieved:
Tires - Non-runflat PS2s. Super-sticky and very compliant.
RTD - In "Sport" mode, tuned for very tight handling (for a sedan!)
Brakes - Infinitely better than anything available in Corvette, except the ZR1.
But, a well-driven Corvette is still going to beat it. One of the big problems is that the car is.. well.. big. It's 4200lbs big. Another is that it doesn't have enough meat touching the road. It needs much fatter tires up front and in the back. Turn-in is lazy, compared to a Corvette. It rates high when compared to other sedans, but when you're used to a Corvette, it seems like it's taking a little to long to respond to steering inputs. This can be fixed with fatter tires, but the V's fenders won't allow for them (safely).
Yes, I've taken my V to the track, and driven it briskly. Unfortunately, as my HPVO buddy promised me, the differential overheated after a few laps into my second session. Neither GM nor the aftermarket has a differential cooler ready yet. So, I won't be doing much in the way of track days with the car.
And honestly, depending on what happens with Z06 in the near future, I may be back.
I had the previous generation and liked it, though it didn't have enough power for me. The current generation is intriguing and it might have lured me away from the C6Z, if I hadn't already had one and realized I like driving a low, 2 door sports car. I did consider getting it instead, but only for a minute
If I had room for multiple cars, it would be car #2 for sure.
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John
2009 Blade Silver Metallic Z06 - 2LZ, Corsa X-Pipe, M2W, CAGS Defeat, Elite Engineering Insulated Tunnel Plate, PAL, Dynamat/Madvette/Blockit Insulation kits, HID Fog Lights, Boston Acoustic Speaker Upgrades, and more to come
2007 Arctic Silver Porsche Carrera S - Gone
2002 Quicksilver Z06 - Gone
2002 Black C-5 Coupe - Gone
2005 Black CTS-V - Gone
2004 Red GTO - Gone
I'm planning on getting one at the end of 2010 , when I turn in the current leased car. I do need a car with a back seat to take my sons to school. Only a V will do, so I told the wife.
I test drove one of these babies a few weeks ago...fantastic car. Lots of amenities and then there's the engine. Sucker would flat get up and move...and quite to boot.
Almost pulled the trigger, but all the cars are paid for and I didn't want another car payment at the moment. I'll wait a bit.
Heaaavy, and that's in a literal way. Where the heck does all of that 4200 lbs come from. Really cool looking car, with lot's of power for overcoming the mass, but just can't imagine driving something weighing 1000 lbs more than my current cars. Enjoy the new ride, but an extra 1000 lbs is well, a 1000 to much. There's no reason this car shouldn't come in closer to 3500. Not usually a neigh sayer, but numbers hitting the scales pretty much speak for them selves.
Traded Z for 09 V
p
CONGRATS!!!
