2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds long-term update of the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray discusses the rev-matching paddles.

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kirkhilles_

Still doesn't make sense to me. Both sides? Who does that? There is a reason you would want it turned off and on and off and on while driving? I'd have to believe that the 80/20 rule would be that people would either want it on or off. Sounded like a button or the Vehicle Setup would've been better options. I wouldn't be surprised to see this changed in future years.

evodad

I'm a fan of this kind of insight. People forget that there are decisions made not based soleyl on 'cost cutting'. Obviously the engineers didn't just say 'screw it lets make the auto's paddles do it so we don't have to think about anything else'. It's not the cheapest solution as stated, but it's not the most expensive. Being able to (de)activate it without removing your hands from the wheel or looking down for a button/touchscreen menu is certainly beneficial. To a degree it's cost cutting but on the flip side it makes the most sense from a functional standpoint although perhaps the least from an aesthetics view to someone that is bothered that much by it. I feel if something so minor bothers a person so much perhaps they may be better off looking elsewhere (porsche?)

metallurgist

Honestly it's hard to believe his answer. It doesn't make sense to use two big paddles to activate a feature which might be used once in a while. The notion that a manual driver doesn't want to remove her hand from the wheel is absurd, how are you gonna downshift if you don't want to take your hand off the wheel?

I think most people who choose manual transmission would rather have a simple and clutter free steering wheel. The real reason is probably cost cutting through streamlining production/supply chain. The only other plausible explanation is that designer forgot about this feature during design or added it later during design cycle and once they noticed and wanted to add it it was too late to design and order a whole set of parts (steering wheel/switch and probably different trim pieces around the switch).

noburgers

I'm in @kirks corner. If you liked the feature it would be set on once and left there, or off once and left there. I would prefer a button, only for the benefit of multiple drivers.

stovt001_

I understand the both sides thing. Can you imagine the flame wars of people disagreeing over left or right placement?

legacygt

I'm with metallurgist. I don't buy this one bit. It's not the cost of the buttons or paddles themselves. The savings are in having one steering wheel assembly for automatic and manual versions of the car. The more things they can keep the same between the two the simpler it is to assemble and manage inventory. Paddles make sense to allow for shifting without removing hands from the wheel. There is no reason for a driver to need to frequently turn rev matching on and off without removing hands from the wheel.