The manually operated convertible top stows neatly under a body-colored cover that folds flat at the forward edge of the trunk lid. The soft top is very nice. It's made of high-quality material and the rear window is glass. You'll need a demonstration or a trip to the owner's manual to figure out how to lower the top the first time, then it's quick and easy. We've seen no evidence of leaking in hard downpours nor at the car wash test, though we did notice some wind noise at the top of the driver's window at super-legal speeds. Riding in the convertible with the top down is very pleasant and lots of fun with much aural feedback. There's very little buffeting at speed.

The Corvette is not a quiet car, but the rattles and stress squeaks that have haunted Corvettes for so long have largely been eliminated. We noticed more road noise and engine noise in the convertible than in the coupe, and even more comes through in the Z06. However, this is a sports car, and noise, particularly the calculated growl of that terrific V8, is part of the deal.

Rearward visibility is a little limited. The rear window is a narrow slot. The side mirrors are wide, but not tall, and work fairly well. Put the top down and the convertible offers the best visibility, as if you needed another reason to drop the top on a spring day.

The coupe comes with a real trunk. Arriving at the airport after a trip halfway around the world, we were able to cram two huge duffel bags into a coupe. The coupe's trunk can hold 24.8 cubic feet of cargo, considerably more than the convertible's 13.9 cubic feet and the hardtop's 13.3 cubic feet. The convertible's trunk sits on top of the rear deck. It's an efficient space with a flat load floor. It's easy to pack the trunk, though you need to lift high and over to load baggage. You can get your clothes dirty leaning over the rear body work on rainy days if you're not careful. Thankfully, the convertible top doesn't seem to take up much of the trunk space when lowered.