If, as they say, God is in the details, then this is the first holy Corvette.
When you start pushing the C5 hard on a winding road, the body moves up and down as needed to absorb the bumps and grinds of the pavement, but the four tires feel as if they're magnetically attached to the pavement.
In cars equipped with the adjustable F45 suspension, this supple character prevails in all three settings, although the level of ride control increases progressively as you dial the switch from "tour" to "sport" to "performance." But even the tautest setting is far less harsh than it was on, say, the 1995 FX3-equipped models. Such a stable platform encourages hard charging. The precise and progressive control responses will help all C5 drivers imitate Alain Prost. The lengthy shift linkage communing with the rear-mounted transaxle feels precise and accurate. The stopping power of the strong brakes varies linearly with the pressure of your foot on the cast-aluminum brake pedal. Furthermore, there's a nice gradual onset of braking when your foot first starts pressing the pedal, making you look smooth even when you stab the brakes to cope with an over-the-rise surprise. The steering proves equally friendly, although at first we felt that the effort was a little too heavy. But as we proceeded to attack the winding and hilly back roads of Kentucky, the steering became completely transparent. There seemed to be a seamless connection between the driver's brain and the C5's front tires without the need for any conscious thought. You can eat up pavement very quickly and easily in this car without ever breaking a sweat or sliding a tire. However, we were given the opportunity to do both at Road Atlanta racetrack. We were critically interested in the C5's behavior at the limit, because the C4 was particularly forgiving when driven flat out. Despite its high limits, you could lean hard on it, safe in the belief that it would break away gradually and keep its tail in line.We soon developed the same confidence in the C5, although with the new car's higher grip, it definitely takes more speed before it slides. Through the 70-to-90-mph esses at Road Atlanta, the CS only gradually relinquishes its grip on the asphalt. Unlike the C4, the new model does slide first at the tail, but after oozing out only a few degrees, it stabilizes in a slight drift. Easing off the throttle a tiny amount brings the car right back into line. In slower turns, such as the right-angle, second-gear corner leading onto the back straight, you can get the tail out big time if you are even slightly overaggressive with the throttle—with the traction control turned off, of course. Not even the Dodge Viper GTS demands as much respect in similar turns. As it turns out, Corvette engineers plan a few changes prior to production to minimize this behavior. A five-percent-stiffer front spring will increase understeer slightly, and a change in the rear-tire compound is expected to increase cornering grip when the power is hard on. Those who perennially hope for a smaller Corvette will be disappointed, but there's no question that the CS uses its bulk well. Moreover, it is not overweight for its size or performance. The now-defunct Nissan 300ZX Turbo weighed 300 pounds more than this new CS, and the Toyota Supra Turbo and the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 are heavier than it as well. Only the far smaller Porsche 911 undercuts the CS's weight—and then by less than 200 pounds.
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