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Corvette Z06 quickest in AJAC testing
By MICHAEL BETTENCOURT
Thursday, November 3, 2005 Posted at 10:59 AM EST
Globe and Mail Update
Although the winners in each particular category of AJAC Car of the Year testing won't be revealed until December, performance numbers for each new vehicle that took part in last week's TestFest in and around Shannonville race track have been unveiled, and make for some interesting reading.
Unsurprisingly, the quickest vehicle in the group was the Chevrolet Corvette Z06, which averaged the 0-100 km/h dash in 4.6 seconds, the only vehicle to break the five-second barrier in the test. Next quickest was the Dodge Magnum SRT8, at 5.3 seconds.
The 505-hp 'Vette also posted an incredible 80-120 km/h average (not single run) of three seconds flat, or more than 25 per cent quicker than any other new-for-2006 vehicle in the field.
The Corvette did not take the crown for shortest stopping distance from 100 km/h, however. That honour went to the Mercedes-Benz CLS 500, with a distance of 34.46 metres, which edged out the BMW 530Xi Touring. As a group, the Luxury/Prestige class where the 530Xi and CLS competed had the best brakes of the entire TestFest field by far, with five of seven vehicles posting sub-38-metre stops, which is Corvette Z06 territory.
At the other end of the performance spectrum, the slowest vehicle in both acceleration tests was the Honda Civic Hybrid, although there was general agreement by the Alternative Power group members that tested it that it didn't feel as slow as the 14.9-second time posted. Still, the Civic redeemed itself at the fuel pump, posting the lowest combined fuel consumption of 4.5 L/100 km. The next lowest, at 5.9, was the VW Jetta TDI.
All acceleration and braking numbers were generated at the Shannonville race track during Canadian Car of the Year testing last week, while the fuel economy numbers were official numbers provided to AJAC in advance of the official publication of the federal government's 2006 Fuel Consumption Guide. All performance figures will be available to the public on the Automobile Journalists of Canada website at http://www.ajac.ca.
The Dodge Ram 2500 MegaCab Diesel, at 49.04 metres, recorded the longest braking distance average from 100 km/h down to zero. The longest for a car was the Chevrolet Impala (47.58), while the Ford Explorer V-8 was the least powerful braking SUV (44.58).
It should be pointed out that new models from Porsche, Lamborghini, and Ferrari didn't participate in this year's event, as they haven't for the past few years, and neither did the Ford GT super car coming to Canada for 2006. All of these could have given the Corvette Z06 closer competition for "best new acceleration times" in Canada.
No matter who wins the Sports/Performance category, which for the first time in many years features mainly four-cylinder vehicles, GM earned a fair amount of enthusiast respect for bringing the limited-edition Z06 sports car to the party.
By MICHAEL BETTENCOURT
Thursday, November 3, 2005 Posted at 10:59 AM EST
Globe and Mail Update
Although the winners in each particular category of AJAC Car of the Year testing won't be revealed until December, performance numbers for each new vehicle that took part in last week's TestFest in and around Shannonville race track have been unveiled, and make for some interesting reading.
Unsurprisingly, the quickest vehicle in the group was the Chevrolet Corvette Z06, which averaged the 0-100 km/h dash in 4.6 seconds, the only vehicle to break the five-second barrier in the test. Next quickest was the Dodge Magnum SRT8, at 5.3 seconds.
The 505-hp 'Vette also posted an incredible 80-120 km/h average (not single run) of three seconds flat, or more than 25 per cent quicker than any other new-for-2006 vehicle in the field.
The Corvette did not take the crown for shortest stopping distance from 100 km/h, however. That honour went to the Mercedes-Benz CLS 500, with a distance of 34.46 metres, which edged out the BMW 530Xi Touring. As a group, the Luxury/Prestige class where the 530Xi and CLS competed had the best brakes of the entire TestFest field by far, with five of seven vehicles posting sub-38-metre stops, which is Corvette Z06 territory.
At the other end of the performance spectrum, the slowest vehicle in both acceleration tests was the Honda Civic Hybrid, although there was general agreement by the Alternative Power group members that tested it that it didn't feel as slow as the 14.9-second time posted. Still, the Civic redeemed itself at the fuel pump, posting the lowest combined fuel consumption of 4.5 L/100 km. The next lowest, at 5.9, was the VW Jetta TDI.
All acceleration and braking numbers were generated at the Shannonville race track during Canadian Car of the Year testing last week, while the fuel economy numbers were official numbers provided to AJAC in advance of the official publication of the federal government's 2006 Fuel Consumption Guide. All performance figures will be available to the public on the Automobile Journalists of Canada website at http://www.ajac.ca.
The Dodge Ram 2500 MegaCab Diesel, at 49.04 metres, recorded the longest braking distance average from 100 km/h down to zero. The longest for a car was the Chevrolet Impala (47.58), while the Ford Explorer V-8 was the least powerful braking SUV (44.58).
It should be pointed out that new models from Porsche, Lamborghini, and Ferrari didn't participate in this year's event, as they haven't for the past few years, and neither did the Ford GT super car coming to Canada for 2006. All of these could have given the Corvette Z06 closer competition for "best new acceleration times" in Canada.
No matter who wins the Sports/Performance category, which for the first time in many years features mainly four-cylinder vehicles, GM earned a fair amount of enthusiast respect for bringing the limited-edition Z06 sports car to the party.
