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The Corvette Z06 is one of the cheapest supercars currently available. But that doesn’t mean it lacks character or build quality to achieve its tantalisingly low price.

It uses a huge 7-litre V8 engine, producing a blistering 495bhp for a sub four second 0-62mph time, with a top speed of 198mph. And unlike previous Corvettes, this is one American supercar which can handle itself among Europe's best.

Corvette has been separated from Chevrolet in the UK, making it a brand sold in its own right. We spent 600 miles with a bright yellow Corvette Z06 to put it through its paces.

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Looks | Looks Inside | Practicality | Ride and Handling | Performance
Running Costs | Reliability | Safety | Equipment | X-Factor

1. Looks
The Corvette might be able to plot its lineage through plenty of generations back to the early 1970s, but the latest model – launched in the UK in 2005 – has a thoroughly modern look. Low, wide and sleek, the Corvette Z06 looks every inch the supercar. The front is low – too low for many speed bumps – with a gaping lower grille and letterbox-sized vent to force air into the big engine. The bulging wheelarches house vents to cool the brakes, and the cool door 'handles' are in fact recesses with an electric solenoid switch to pop open the doors. The Corvette's trademark four circular lights are recessed into a flat rear – another 'Vette hallmark. The Z06 comes with huge 18 inch alloys at the front and 19s at the rear – the latter wrapped in ultra-wide tyres for added grip.

10/10

2. Looks inside
American cars don't usually score well when it comes to interior quality and looks, but the Corvette is an exception. It's not quite to the standards we'd expect of the very best in Europe, but it certainly impresses – especially with the £2,650 'Custom Leather wrapped Interior Package' fitted to our test car. This gave the 'Vette a two-tone leather cloaked dashboard and doors, and is well worth the extra outlay. Comfy and supportive leather seats with Z06 logos embroidered into the headrests hold the occupants in under hard cornering. Its party piece is the fighter jet-style 'head-up' display which projects information such as speed, revs, engine and oil temperature and sat-nav instructions onto the windscreen in front of the driver. It’s a nice, unobtrusive system, which will come into its own on a track, where the 'G meter' which measures the severity of cornering will be used.

8/10

3. Practicality
Not usually a supercar forte, but the Corvette boasts a massive 634 litre boot – almost twice the size of a Volkswagen Golf's. Access is good with the whole bootlid and glass lifting but there's a high lip, which is awkward to lift luggage over. The boot itself is wide and shallow, with it open to the forward cabin. There's a cloth cover which hooks onto the bootlid with elastic straps – a rather low-tech solution. Up front there's a decent amount of space, although the wide transmission tunnel makes for a warm leg for the driver. There's not a huge amount of storage space in the cabin however; limited to a small glovebox, shallow box by the driver's right elbow and space in the doors.

The biggest problem the 'Vette has is its width; it measures more than 1.9 metres, size which is magnified by its left-hand drive-only layout.

7/10

4. Ride and Handling
The Corvette Z06 is a blast to drive. Forget the oft-used maxim that American cars don’t handle; despite the antiquated leaf spring rear suspension, it feels planted on bends thanks to a w-i-d-e track (the distance widthways between the wheels). And its featherlight 1,418kg kerbweight helps too, with a plastic and carbon composite body. Incredibly, the passenger compartment floor combines carbon fibre skins with a balsa wood core.

There's a good amount of feedback through the steering, but although it lacks absolute feel there's more than enough to let the driver know what the wheels are up to. Under fast cornering, it feels balanced thanks to good front/rear weight distribution. The ride is firm, but unless driving on really broken up tarmac, still comfortable.

9/10

5. Performance
There are few superlatives to describe the Corvette Z06's performance. It is simply blistering. It will reach 62mph from rest in 3.9 seconds – just a tenth of a second slower than the £300,000 McLaren Mercedes SLR and Porsche Carrera GT. Top speed is 198.4mph, which makes the Z06 one of the cheapest ways to some serious speed. The 495bhp developed from the 7-litre V8 engine is complimented by a gargantuan 470lb/ft which delivers sledgehammer performance. It roars (through a two-stage exhaust for extra volume) past 60mph and the speed continues to rise at a staggering rate – reaching 100mph in less than ten seconds. It performs best above 5,000rpm, but it's certainly no slouch below. Its massive brakes are worth a mention, with massive stopping power, and a progressive feel to them.

10/10

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6. Running Costs
The Corvette Z06 is a real performance bargain. It's very, very fast and well equipped for its £62,000 price tag. And its rarity value is worth its weight in gold for many car enthusiasts – Corvette only sells a handful a year. The flipside is sizeable depreciation, but that makes them very affordable on the used market. Running costs will be steep. Corvette says it'll cover 24.1mpg, although we managed around 18.5mpg on a combination of urban congestion and fast-slowing A-roads – still respectable for a near-200mph supercar. Insurance is costly at group 20, and emissions of 350g/km place it in the top tax band, F which currently costs £400 a year – and will be subject to a £950 'showroom tax' soon. And if the Corvette does plenty of miles, or occasional track work, you'll need to budget for its massive tyres.

6/10

7. Reliability
A mainly plastic construction ensures no rust, and the big, lazy 7-litre engine is a low-stress unit. The materials used in the interior feel up to the job too. A small number of dealers could prove frustrating when it comes to servicing through.

7/10

8. Safety
The Corvette Z06 hasn't been tested by the EuroNCAP crash test programme. The occupants are protected by front and side airbags and features a range of electronic driver aids. The car's ESP (electronic stability programme) system can be deactivated or can have its influence on the car's handling reduced in 'Competitive Driving Mode'. It also has traction control, electronic brakeforce distribution, tyre pressure monitoring and cornering brake control as standard.

8/10

9. Equipment
There's no shortage of equipment in the Corvette Z06 – in fact the only options you'd probably want to consider include the leather pack (£2,650), sat-nav (£1,600) and polished alloys (£1,350). Standard equipment includes bright xenon headlamps, heated, power adjustable and folding mirrors; 18 inch alloys at the front and 19s at the rear. Inside, it gets dual zone climate control, cruise control, keyless entry with push button start, electrically-operated leather seats, audio system with a 6CD autochanger and seven Bose speakers and a head-up display.

9/10

10. X-Factor
It's big, it's butch and its one of the cheapest ways into supercar ownership. If you can handle the left-hand drive layout, it is a truly staggering machine that will never fail to make the driver smile.

10/10

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Video: Watch the Corvette Z06 in action below