2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray review

There’s something about a hybrid-powered Chevrolet Corvette that doesn’t sit right. Like just about everything else made in America, it should be a symbol of excess. A big naturally aspirated V8 engine, massive top speed, and a wayward handling quality like you see on YouTube videos when punters leave cars and coffee events in sideways fashion.

But with the eighth generation, the first mid-engined Corvette in existence, Chevrolet has been hard at work fine-tuning this iconic supercar into something that can rival the likes of the Ferrari 296 GTB, the Lamborghini Huracan, and the McLaren Artura.

A supercar set for the world stage.

What’s better, it’s now made in right-hand drive from the factory, so even us folk over in Australia now get to sample the finest Corvette yet.

I’ve wondered what the Corvette’s like ever since it arrived on local shores a couple of years ago, so to say I was excited about my first interaction with the new hybrid-powered 2025 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray would be an understatement.

How expensive the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray is remains a matter of perspective. At $275,000 before on-road costs, this car’s price remains out of reach for plenty of motoring enthusiasts.

Especially in hybrid E-Ray guise, the additional money you’d pay for something like this over even the base Corvette LT2 ($182,000) is eye-watering. But then again, you get a whole lot more performance for your money too.

It produces 488kW and 806Nm from its 6.2-litre ‘LT2’ V8 and electric combination powertrain (of which 119kW/169Nm relates to the front-mount electric motor), quoted to hit 100km/h from rest in a blistering 2.5 seconds.

The real eye-opener is comparing the Corvette E-Ray with its contemporaries like the mid-engined McLaren Artura ($495,004) or the Ferrari 296 GTB ($604,000). In this lens, the Corvette E-Ray is comparatively cheap.

Within the Corvette range, only the track-tuned Z06 is more expensive at $336,000 plus on-road costs.

However, all Corvette variants are loaded with equipment. In 3LZ specification as standard, the Corvette E-Ray selects adaptive dampers, carbon-ceramic brakes, a front lift system, a performance data application, a head-up display, a 12-inch digital cluster, a 14-speaker Bose sound system, and a smattering of carbon-fibre elements inside and out.

The E-Ray gets the widebody of the Z06 to fit wider tyres, and you’ll be able to pick one out from a Corvette line-up thanks to the body-coloured accents.

In looks alone, there’s no doubt that the entire package has a menacing demeanour – much more so than previous front-engine Corvettes anyway. The Corvette, in my mind, used to be a competitor for something like the Porsche 911.

But it’s now wholly leapfrogged that competition and set its sights on mid-engined ultra exotica.

Though the Corvette is capable of running solely off its 1.9kWh lithium-ion battery for roughly 5–6km, there’s no doubt that the electric benefit has little to do with reducing the fuel consumption. However, there are some cool side benefits to the electric aspect that I’ll get into later.

The Corvette E-Ray is just one of several variants in the line-up. The near-$100K increase in price is a lot of extra money that individual buyers will have to weigh up whether it’s worth it.

The next step on the purchase journey is to check the GMSV website for stock of your preferred Corvette variant. You can also find electric vehicles for sale at Drive Marketplace.

Overall space is limited inside the Corvette E-Ray, as expected of a focused supercar.

Much like its European alternatives, it feels built for a certain type of person, and at 194cm tall, I don’t think my frame was considered all too much.

The steering wheel wouldn’t go high enough for me to feel ultimately comfortable, and my view of the road was obstructed by the windscreen surround because the seat wouldn’t go low enough.

There are some cool features to the seats, including the fact that they’re carbon-fibre backed, have heating and ventilation, and memory recall, though they simply weren’t comfortable – especially for everyday driving.

What’s worse, the hardcore Competition seats that come standard in Australian Corvettes are not form-fitting and were unfortunately quite uncomfortable. I had some proper back pain that I’ve not experienced in other cars before, and it marred the experience of driving the Corvette as a daily driver.

Complaints out of the way, the Corvette cabin is finished to a brilliant standard. The interior fit and finish seem to have shunned the American reputation for poor build quality because every panel is covered in nice leather, there’s a rich smell to the high-quality fabrics, and there were no squeaks or rattles to speak of during my time with the car.

A few items could be improved, such as the indicator stalks that feel repurposed out of a Chevrolet SUV and the plasticky climate control buttons that stretch the length of the centre console. Otherwise, everything is covered in a fancy material and there’s plenty of carbon-fibre accents that liven up the space.

The fact that the targa top roof is a breeze to lop off is super handy, and it affords an airy feel to the interior. It stows in a rear compartment behind the engine that’s also handy for swallowing soft bags when not used by the carbon roof.

Elsewhere, the front bonnet pops open to hold smaller backpacks and shopping bags – though overall storage space is extremely limited. There’s a shallow, lidded centre console bin, thin door panel pockets, and a pair of cupholders in the interior, but minimal other places to place odds and ends.

The coolest aspect of the Corvette tech suite is the 12-inch digital driver’s cluster that can be configured with a number of graphical displays. My favourite is the track display that shows the rev counter in a horizontal format, but the level of information shown on the screen is plentiful no matter the layout.

The main infotainment screen is heavily canted towards the driver, though is less impressive in relation to its functionality. Not only is the 8.0-inch display lacking in size, but the functionality is simple.

You can see cool info relating to the electric motor’s function and data, plus neat electric output displays. There’s also a performance data recorder that is easily accessed through a tile on the main menu.

However, there is no embedded satellite navigation. Buyers will have to connect the wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto capability instead.

I do like the 14-speaker Bose sound system, though. It contains a high-fidelity sound quality and there’s a resounding bass that easily drowns out the car’s otherwise loud tyre roar on the freeway.

There is no smartphone companion application for the Corvette in Australia.

The Corvette has not been safety-rated in Australia, and its low-volume nature means it’s unlike to be tested by ANCAP anytime soon.

Despite the lack of an official safety rating, the Corvette is fitted with some active safety measures. Most importantly, it gets autonomous emergency braking (AEB), which is a must-have in 2025.

Other inclusions amount to blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assistance, rear cross-traffic alert, regular non-adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, and front and rear parking sensors.

Crucially, though it’s limited in terms of outright safety inclusions, all aspects of the safety suite worked well during my time with the car. There were no false positive reactions from the AEB system, and the lane-keep assist didn’t annoy if the car strayed about within the lane markings.

The Corvette comes with a limited three-year/100,000km warranty package in Australia, though this offering is par for the course when buying a supercar. Similar offerings from Lamborghini and Aston Martin attract the same warranty.

Corvettes also get three years of roadside assistance in Australia.

Servicing is recommended to take place every 12,000km (or 12 months, whichever is sooner).

The maintenance cost is done on a case-by-case basis. It varies between dealerships and there is no capped-price servicing program.

Make no mistake, although this is the Toyota Prius version of a Corvette, it does not deliver much benefit in the way of efficiency.

Chevrolet claims the E-Ray consumes 11.5 litres per 100 kilometres, which is a 2.0L/100km improvement over the non-assisted Corvette Stingray.

However, my week didn’t net such enthusiastic figures. I returned the car showing 13.6L/100km on the computer. Not altogether horrible for a supercar, but don’t go buying the Corvette E-Ray expecting a frugal car.

It’s (relatively) expensive to refuel too, considering it requires 95-octane premium unleaded petrol as a minimum. Though this is pretty standard fare for a supercar.

My favourite side benefit of the Corvette E-Ray’s petrol-electric hybrid powertrain is the ability to fire up the car in complete silence through ‘Stealth’ mode. Stealth mode has strict limitations: it’s only for up to 6km and you can’t use the air conditioning at the same time.

But it’s a handy trick that I used many a morning to avoid waking up the neighbours, because once the petrol engine fires up, it barks to life with a quick, sharp blip in revs and stays loud.

Any hesitance that this hybrid-powered Corvette is any less loud or boisterous than its non-hybrid-assisted alternatives is unfounded – this E-Ray is exceptionally loud and characterful.

The exhaust note gets louder as you cycle through the four driving modes (plus custom settings), as does the Magnetic Ride Control’s firmness, the steering quality, and the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission’s responsiveness.

Even in its most sedate setting, the eight-speed transmission is quick to exact gear changes, but the satisfying crack noise of a swap is only experienced under high throttle load.

Despite the usual foibles of a dual-clutch transmission, GM has ironed out imperfections in the transmission’s operation so that it’s slick at low speeds and doesn’t stutter between shifts from drive to reverse – or vice versa.

Speaking of smooth operation, the front-mounted electric motor’s 119kW/169Nm boost seamlessly complements the 6.2-litre V8’s 369kW output.

Keep in mind that this is a hybrid unlike a Toyota Prius. It doesn’t really transition between petrol and electric power. Instead, the electric component acts as an attenuator to the petrol engine and the resulting acceleration at full song is savage.

This is among the quickest-accelerating cars in Australia on paper, and it certainly feels as such from the hot seat.

Remember those scenes from The Fast and the Furious where the windscreen went all blurry when one of the racers activated nitrous oxide? That’s what it feels like to pin the throttle to the firewall in the Corvette E-Ray.

On the flipside, the braking ability provided by the massive carbon-ceramic brakes is incredibly strong. There’s a reassuring feel to how rapidly the Corvette can pull up and go around corners combined with the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tyres.

Led by an incisive steering quality that points the nose directly where you turn the wheel, the Corvette rounds corners with next to no body roll. This is impressive given the car’s weight at 1781kg tare.

The tactile steering system feels fantastic in hand.

The suspension is decidedly firm. The Magnetic Ride Control tries to make the best of a stiff situation, but the E-Ray will rattle and crash over large potholes in the road. That said, the performance payoff when you’re on a back road is worth the pain around town.

I went into the Corvette E-Ray experience expecting it to be a straight-line operator that rockets from traffic light to traffic light, but falls flat around corners. But that notion was proven wrong within the first few corners behind the wheel. This hybrid is the real deal.

Corvettes are all about brash character and big V8 engines. So it’s surprising that the E-Ray electrified variant plays in beautifully to that stereotype.

The Corvette E-Ray contains the same attributes that made the nameplate famous 70 years ago. But the experience has now been distilled into a sharp supercar that could feasibly rival the likes of Ferraris and McLarens.

I’m dead keen to put this car up against an alternative like the McLaren Artura.

As long as you’re not going into the E-Ray expecting it to lean heavily on its electric power for fuel-saving benefits – and let’s face it, that’s unlikely of Corvette’s fan base – the Corvette E-Ray shapes up as a phenomenal experience.

Tom started out in the automotive industry by exploiting his photographic skills but quickly learned journalists got the better end of the deal. With tenures at CarAdvice, Wheels Media, and now Drive, Tom's breadth of experience and industry knowledge informs a strong opinion on all things automotive. At Drive, Tom covers automotive news, car reviews, advice, and holds a special interest in long-form feature stories.

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