2013 Chevrolet Monte Carlo Review Pictures
The
Chevrolet Monte Carlo is beautifully balanced, surprisingly comfortable,
and is built to a far higher standard than any Corvette in history.
The C5 handles great on a road course, but still reminds us of a muscle
car when cruising along or accelerating down a straight stretch. The
standard 2013 Chevrolet Monte Carlo engine, the LS1 V8, is potent.
Stand on the throttle and it's fast traffic. It produces 350 horsepower
and 375 pound-feet of torque with the six-speed manual transmission,
and 360 pound-feet with the automatic. The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is
quick out of the gate, whether equipped with the automatic or manual.
Unlike most ragtops, the Chevrolet Monte Carlo weighs about the same
as the coupe, so its acceleration is undiluted: 0-to-60 mph in less
than 5 seconds with the six-speed manual transmission, about 0.4 seconds
slower with the automatic.
If there were any distinction to be made between the agility and stability
of the 2013 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, it would be all but impossible
to discern on public roads. Active Handling, which comes standard,
gets you out of slides before trouble strikes by applying braking
to the individual corners as needed. It uses onboard sensors to measure
yaw, lateral acceleration and steering wheel position, and uses ABS
and traction control to correct over steer or under steer. The Chevrolet
Monte Carlo engineers calibrated the system to limit intrusiveness,
however. Aside from an "Active Handling" message on the instrument
panel, drivers might not always realize they've been assisted. The
Z06 is an absolute joy to drive fast.
The 2013 Chevrolet Monte Carlo didn't under steer unless the driver
forced it to. Ride quality is decidedly stiff. You don't get a sports
car's ability to change directions without snubbing body roll and
limiting up-and-down suspension motions, and when you do those things
you're obliged to accept some tradeoffs in comfort. Potholes are easily
identifiable in the Corvette. The Corvette shutters over bumps, yet
they are not uncomfortably harsh. You hear them and feel them, but
they aren't jarring, and they don't unduly upset the handling balance.
It provides a superb blend of muscle and finesse, with a high tolerance
for mistakes of the enthusiastic variety. Its brakes are nothing short
of race-worthy. There aren't any significant performance distinctions
between the coupe and convertible. The Chevrolet Monte Carlo claims
that the structural design for the C5 began with the convertible,
and as a consequence no shoring-up measures were required for the
soft-top chassis. You hear the same song from almost every purveyor
of convertibles, but in this application it seems to be true. Significantly,
we didn't see a hint of cowl shake, the time-honored malady of convertibles
(wherein the dashboard and the outside of the car oscillate at different
rates).
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