Model Mix Last year’s hardtop Z06 model is on hiatus, returning with a vengeance for 2006. Until then, choose between the 2005 Corvette Coupe and the 2005 Corvette Convertible, adding options to the standard equipment list to tailor the car just the way you want.

If the list of hardware upgrades makes it sound like the standard 2005 Chevrolet Corvette is just as good as the previous-generation Z06 model, you wouldn’t be far off the mark. But last year’s hardtop Z06 model is on hiatus, returning with a vengeance for 2006 to serve as the most incredible Corvette ever produced by a General Motors factory. Until then, choose between the Corvette Coupe and the Corvette Convertible, adding options to the standard equipment list to tailor the car just the way you want.

Standard equipment on the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette includes common features like power windows, power door locks, power mirrors, cruise control, tilt and telescopic steering wheel, CD player, xenon headlights, dual-zone automatic climate control, and leather upholstery. Uncommon goodies like Keyless Access, which allows the Corvette to be unlocked and started without removing the transmitter fob from a pocket or purse, and Active Handling, a stability control system with a competitive mode that allows for a greater range of driver control at the limit without completely disabling the safety net, are also included in the base price.

Corvette options include OnStar telematics, XM satellite radio, a Bose audio system with an in-dash six-disc CD changer, a dual-mode head-up display that can track and show handling data right on the windshield within the driver’s line of sight, and a navigation system with mapping for the continental U.S. and Canada on a single DVD.

Corvette Coupes feature a standard removable targa roof panel, 15 percent larger than before but weighing just a pound more. Pop the rear glass hatch, and the Corvette Coupe can accommodate 22 cubic feet of cargo. Convertibles have a standard manual-folding, five-layer fabric top, which can be power-operated as an option. Convertibles carry 11 cubic feet of luggage with the top raised, but that figure gets cut by more than half to five cubes with the top down.

We spent a week driving a loaded Magnetic Red Metallic 2005 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible equipped with the power top, Magnetic Selective Ride Control, OnStar, XM, Bose, dual-mode head-up display, and DVD navigation. But even at an as-tested price of $63,200, the Corvette Convertible is a raging bargain.