2025 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray review

This could be the best V8 new-car experience currently on sale in Australia. 

It’s the Chevrolet Corvette, which has a 6.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol V8 mounted between the seats and the back wheels.

Australia is a country mad for V8 engines. It’s built into our DNA and cultural fabric, and is an obsession that was once dutifully fed by locally born cars with American-sourced hearts. Commodores, Falcons, HSVs and FPVs. 

While the occasional exotic European muscle car drew some attention (like the E39 M5 and the W204 C63 AMG), our local attention really revolved around big, bruising four-door sedans.

Those options aren't around anymore, and the whole idea of owning a V8 these days has really changed. 

While the regular Corvette range starts at $193,990 plus on-road costs for the entry-level Corvette 2LT Stingray, we've got an upgraded 3LT here. Pricing for this model starts at $222,990 plus on-roads, but the addition of a convertible roof pushes the price up to $232,990 plus on-road costs.

This pricing is for MY2026 models. However, the car we had on test was an MY25 example without the updated interior and infotainment. As of writing, these vehicles had not yet arrived in Australia, which explains the use of the pre-update car.

While the powertrain remains the same, going for 3LT trim level gets you nicer GT2 seats, a leather-wrapped dashboard and suede microfibre additions to the inside of the car. So, if you aren't so fussed about seats or a convertible roof, you're better off saving your money and picking up the entry-level model. That comes with a targa top roof, too, so you're not left without and open-air experience altogether.

This is especially true because both 2LT and 3LT get the 'Z51' performance package as standard equipment in Australia. This gets you Michelin Pilot Sport 4 rubber, upgraded brakes from Brembo, a rear spoiler, adaptive MagneRide suspension, a performance exhaust system, an electronic limited-slip differential and forged alloy wheels.

When you look at what cars are currently available with a V8, you’ll notice a few things. Firstly, they are mostly horrendously expensive. The cheapest V8 is Ford’s Mustang, which starts at $84,990 before on-road costs. It's not outright cheap, but it's also an outlier on the value scale.

From there, things get astronomical. Once you get past the Nissan Patrol and American trucks, it’s not long until you’re looking at prices starting with two, three and beyond.

The second thing you’ll notice is that a lot of the more ‘affordable’ V8s are not in sports cars or sedans. The Mustang is the exception to the rule here, but it’s utes, SUVs and four-wheel-drives that mostly keep bent-eight power alive.

Thirdly, a lot of these cars share common hardware. A 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 is shared between Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini and Bentley. Mercedes’s own V8 of the same size goes into Aston Martins, and Land Rover borrows the 4.4-litre unit from BMW, along with keeping its own 5.0-litre unit alive, for now.

Ford has its own V8, and Chevrolet has a range of V8s available.

Now, I’m not stupid enough to call this Chevrolet Corvette affordable. Because with a price that floats around and above that $200,000 mark, it’s not. But right across the board, owning a V8 is not an accessible exercise anymore.

I’m not going to call a two-seat convertible practical either, even though this sleek sports car has more storage capacity than you’d probably expect.

Actually, sports car is underselling it. This is certainly a supercar. There’s a huge amount of performance potential in terms of acceleration, braking and handling. And it’s accompanied by a classic throaty V8 soundtrack.

Zero-to-100km/h is achieved in 3.4 seconds (which is helped by launch control), and Chevrolet also claims a top speed of 194 miles per hour (312km/h).

Yep. Supercar. Not as fast as what the Z06 or E-Ray can do, but trust me: this thing is plenty fast enough.

General Motors’s ‘LT2’ V8 engine – which still rocks a single camshaft and pushrods for the valve operation –  delivers a typically torquey response to throttle inputs. It’s not a high-revving motor like the more expensive Z06, Lexus LC500 or even the smaller-engined Ford Mustang.

There’s variable timing for the two valves per cylinder, dry sump scavenging, hollow intake valves and sodium-filled exhaust valves to handle the extra heat.

Half of the V8 engine can be deactivated, which is done by oil pressure closing off the valves and allowing the vehicle to run as a V4 (like a Saab Sonnet). 

A modern lump with an old soul, which allows some surprisingly impressive efficiency possibilities that I’ll get to later.

While both of the more expensive Corvette options (Z06 and E-Ray) develop more power, this ‘base’ Stingray still punches hard. And with that truck-like engine capacity available, you don’t need a long-winded tacho to make good power.

Its 369kW isn’t significantly more than what you get in a 5.0-litre Ford Mustang, and comes on full song at a little over 6000rpm. Torque is more rampant, with 637Nm available just past 5000rpm.

The Corvette's 1682kg of kerb weight represents about 40kg of additional weight compared to the non-convertible model, and pins the Corvette as being on the heavier side of the middleweights.

But the simple fact that we have so much engine here – without any kind of turbocharging, supercharging or hybrid assistance – is special.

Power is fed to the rear wheels by an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and we’ve got a power-to-weight ratio well over 200 kilowatts to the tonne. 

This is exactly the kind of engine that would have found its way into some kind of HSV, if such a thing was still around. However, the whole mid-engine thing we’ve got now really spices things up. 

Firstly, look at this car from an aesthetic point of view. This Corvette is a classic wedge shape with the same silhouette as a doorstop. It’s sharply angled and aggressive, but also not dissimilar in looks to some classic supercar fare like the Ferrari 458 Italia. 

It looks great when the roof does the Houdini as well, after being swallowed up by the big rear hatch. Although, it’s a crying shame that you cannot admire that engine through a see-through panel in this case.

That pain dissipates, though, when you experience the backstage pass to hearing that engine howl only inches from your head. 

If it’s raining, though, don’t worry. The small electric window at the rear helps pipe some of those glorious noises into the cabin.

Handling is different, as well. It’s not as tail-happy as you might expect. Big 305mm-wide rubber at the back – using quality Michelin Pilot Sport tyres on forged 20-inch wheels – does an impressive job of maintaining positive traction, and only letting go laterally when you start looking for trouble.

Up front, you’ll see the staggered fitment of 19-inch wheels and narrower 245mm-wide tyres. 

Off-the mark acceleration runs are well managed too. Getting out of the hole can be respectably done, and launch mode is there if you’re chasing milliseconds. 

The driving experience is equal parts interesting and enjoyable. We don’t have a car that’s light and darting, intensely honed and skittish.

Its steering is meaty and potentially heavy for some tastes, with gentility off-centre that calms things down a bit. Once you’re turning into a corner and rotating with purpose, this is a serious car. It feels low-slung and grippy, with buckets of acceleration available in the mid-range to shoot out of a corner. 

The extra weight over the rear helps here, along with the overt width of the wheels. 

When unleashed, the engine is a joy to experience. It howls with a happy eagerness, waking up noticeably above the 4500rpm mark. You can feel the peak of torque here, as well as the rising wave of available power and punch as the soundtrack becomes more violent.

Cold starts are not for those who embarrass easily or have irritable neighbours. It’s hilariously loud and raucous, with a shrill and hard-edged bark settling down to a less antisocial rumble.

There’s plenty of bass and intent; this is a car that never really hides what it’s packing.

And it does it with classic pushrods, no overhead camshafts, and without any form of forced induction or electrification. 

Between engine and wheels is an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission that does feel crunchy and grabby at low speeds. A Porsche PDK it is not, with reverse in particular feeling a bit unnatural. But it is crisp, fast and smooth on the move. 

There is a near-instant response to flicks on the paddles, with a lovely bark and grumble on the overrun.

Overall, the Corvette is quite approachable and – once you start driving – not really that intimidating. It’s enjoyable, with that heavy-duty rumble always bustling behind your ears. 

It’s a comfortable cruiser, thanks mostly to the adaptive damping providing an impressive breadth of stiffness. 

When you slacken these dampers right off, which you can do through different driving modes (or choosing your own setup), you get a nice edge of compliance and absorption to the driving experience. This isn’t one of those cars that you would love only 5 per cent of the time and be forced to put up with otherwise.

Track Mode is too unforgiving for 95 per cent of public roads, as the name suggests accurately. But going somewhere in the middle feels like the sweet spot for spirited public road runs. 

Our testing was in large parts of rain and wet, which did make the car feel a little skittish at times. But on the whole, the Corvette manages its power and stability impressively well. 

Of course, if you go looking for trouble, you can find it with this car. But for the most part, it’s impressively manageable and even docile at times.

In terms of fuel efficiency, you can get as good as 9.0 litres per 100 kilometres on the highway, which seems outrageous for a high-performance, V8-powered supercar. 

Daily driving (without the heavy pedalling) can see efficiency sit at around 12L/100km, which is still impressive. Clearly, the cylinder-deactivation technology (which is seamless in operation) does the heavy lifting of keeping things efficient.

On the inside, the Corvette might not be to everybody’s taste. Some of the touchpoints feel a bit underdone, and the overall design is quite aggressive.

The interior isn’t exactly brimming with storage and convenience, with the available space seemingly taken up mostly by the bulky dashboard design. There’s a small centre console, and a wireless charging pad that’s awkward to reach at the rear of the cabin.

Its seats – while they look excellent – are also comfortable and offer plenty of adjustment. There’s heating and venting as well, along with enough support to hold you in place through dynamic driving.

The steering wheel is quite imposing, with a visually heavy design, plenty of diameter to grip on, and flattened top and bottom sections. Metallic paddle shifters are nice, but some of the switchgear on the inside is perhaps a bit lacking for a car of this price. 

A button for the centre console was flimsy and half-broken in our test car, and the indicators look like something directly out of the short-lived Holden Acadia. This lets things down.

The infotainment screen – overtly angled towards the driver – is relatively small but perfectly effective. It is worth noting that this aspect is updated in MY26 cars, however. The operating system works well and features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

The sound system, along with having nice metallic speaker covers, works well, and we’ve got buttons to open the door. For some reason, regular door levers are going out of vogue.

Down in the footwell, you’ll see the relatively ugly mechanical release cables in case the buttons aren’t working.

Storage fore and aft makes this two-seater significantly more tenable, with impressively practical storage behind the engine and up at the nose.

You don't get that handy cramped second row of a Porsche 911 here, which works wonders for joyriding friends and storing bags.

There are 370 litres of storage space in total, which isn’t that far off what you have in the back of a small SUV. The front storage area is a decent size itself, and the boot runs the full width of the vehicle and is impressively deep. 

You couldn't fit large suitcases or golf clubs in there, for example, but note that the exhaust packaging means it can get a little warm. So don’t fill it up with Neapolitan ice cream and drive an hour home.

Facts are facts: Ford’s Mustang clearly offers somewhat similar V8 vibes for significantly less spend. Commensurately, it enjoys significantly more sales volume thanks to that. 

But providing a different experience through the mid-engined layout, dynamic poise and overall capability gives it an interesting edge. While it’s not as polished overall as something like a Porsche 911, it’s not as spend-heavy and gives more bang-for-buck in terms of powertrain potency.

If it’s a V8 that you crave, and you’ve got the means to go beyond the Mustang’s asking price, the Corvette Stingray really delivers.

Sam Purcell has been writing about cars, four-wheel driving and camping since 2013, and obsessed with anything that goes brum-brum longer than he can remember. Sam joined the team at CarAdvice/Drive as the off-road Editor in 2018, after cutting his teeth at Unsealed 4X4 and Pat Callinan’s 4X4 Adventures. Off-road writer of the Year, Winner - Sam Purcell

Read more about Sam Purcell