Volkswagen Eos the all-weather convertible
13/09/08 20:39 Filed in: Road tests
Coupé cabriolets are the current hot ticket on the motoring scene. With their folding metal roofs, these cars aim to offer the best of both worlds – the full open air motoring experience, plus the comfort and security of a metal roof.
This is not a particularly new concept. Peugeot claim to have had a folding roof away back in the 1930s. More recently Mercedes-Benz brought the idea right up to date with their 1996 SLK.
Now mainstream manufacturers are seeing this as an option to produce a stylish and practical lifestyle vehicle. Big names like Peugeot, Renault and Vauxhall and Ford all now have coupé cabriolets.
The Volkswagen Eos is based on the underpinnings of the Golf. But, it very successfully projects a sophisticated image that slots it into the range somewhere between the Golf and the Passat.
Sometimes coming a little later to the market can be an advantage. It gives the designers an opportunity to see where they can improve on other offerings.
The Eos certainly scores on eye-appeal in what is a very fashion conscious sector of the market. It looks good roof up, or down, and, when you get behind the wheel it manages to still feel rather special, too - particularly with the burgundy leather interior trim on the test car.
Raising or lowering the roof takes around 25 seconds, with no more effort than pulling or pushing on a switch on the central armrest. Simple it may be to operate, but the remarkably complex balletic manoeuvres that make it all possible are sure to attract a small crowd of on-lookers. Uniquely the Eos also offers its owners a halfway house to full open-air motoring with its built-in sunroof.
Inevitably coupé cabriolets tend to involve compromises in the available space for passengers and luggage. I was surprised to find the rear seats on the Eos more usable than they initially appeared. If I could find a relatively short-legged driver, I could even have contemplated a journey sitting in the back. Any taller, however, and my head would be wearing a hole in the roof lining.
With the roof up, the boot is quite spacious. But, if you want to be able to enjoy open-air motoring you have to restrict yourself to the area below the roof storage guide. Loading or unloading anything more than shopping bags into this space requires you to have the roof in the closed position.
I was impressed with the Eos as a driver’s car. Its performance is lively and responsive. Acceleration feels quicker than the 9.8 seconds quoted for the Eos 2.0 FSI Sport and it pulls strongly in all six gears.
The Sport has a lowered suspension, but the ride is very comfortable, striking a happy medium between sporting firmness and comfort. Even the rash of speed cushions that are appearing all over our side roads don’t seem to unsettle it unduly.
The steering, which is nice and light at parking speeds, weights up well on the open road. Not the sharpest, it turns in well. Combined with a flat cornering stance and good balance it means the Eos was an enjoyable companion on the twisty country roads. On these cross-country commutes, I average around 23 mpg, but this rose to 27 mpg on a more relaxed country run.
Roof up or down the Eos is a quiet and refined cruiser. Even without the optional wind deflector, there is remarkably little wind buffeting.
The Eos range starts at £19,370 with the 2.0 FSI Sport coming in at £21,735. That’s a bit more than you would pay for some of the other offerings, but the Eos not only feels more special and more rewarding, it is likely to hold more of its value when it comes time to sell.
This is not a particularly new concept. Peugeot claim to have had a folding roof away back in the 1930s. More recently Mercedes-Benz brought the idea right up to date with their 1996 SLK.
Now mainstream manufacturers are seeing this as an option to produce a stylish and practical lifestyle vehicle. Big names like Peugeot, Renault and Vauxhall and Ford all now have coupé cabriolets.
The Volkswagen Eos is based on the underpinnings of the Golf. But, it very successfully projects a sophisticated image that slots it into the range somewhere between the Golf and the Passat.
Sometimes coming a little later to the market can be an advantage. It gives the designers an opportunity to see where they can improve on other offerings.
The Eos certainly scores on eye-appeal in what is a very fashion conscious sector of the market. It looks good roof up, or down, and, when you get behind the wheel it manages to still feel rather special, too - particularly with the burgundy leather interior trim on the test car.
Raising or lowering the roof takes around 25 seconds, with no more effort than pulling or pushing on a switch on the central armrest. Simple it may be to operate, but the remarkably complex balletic manoeuvres that make it all possible are sure to attract a small crowd of on-lookers. Uniquely the Eos also offers its owners a halfway house to full open-air motoring with its built-in sunroof.
Inevitably coupé cabriolets tend to involve compromises in the available space for passengers and luggage. I was surprised to find the rear seats on the Eos more usable than they initially appeared. If I could find a relatively short-legged driver, I could even have contemplated a journey sitting in the back. Any taller, however, and my head would be wearing a hole in the roof lining.
With the roof up, the boot is quite spacious. But, if you want to be able to enjoy open-air motoring you have to restrict yourself to the area below the roof storage guide. Loading or unloading anything more than shopping bags into this space requires you to have the roof in the closed position.
I was impressed with the Eos as a driver’s car. Its performance is lively and responsive. Acceleration feels quicker than the 9.8 seconds quoted for the Eos 2.0 FSI Sport and it pulls strongly in all six gears.
The Sport has a lowered suspension, but the ride is very comfortable, striking a happy medium between sporting firmness and comfort. Even the rash of speed cushions that are appearing all over our side roads don’t seem to unsettle it unduly.
The steering, which is nice and light at parking speeds, weights up well on the open road. Not the sharpest, it turns in well. Combined with a flat cornering stance and good balance it means the Eos was an enjoyable companion on the twisty country roads. On these cross-country commutes, I average around 23 mpg, but this rose to 27 mpg on a more relaxed country run.
Roof up or down the Eos is a quiet and refined cruiser. Even without the optional wind deflector, there is remarkably little wind buffeting.
The Eos range starts at £19,370 with the 2.0 FSI Sport coming in at £21,735. That’s a bit more than you would pay for some of the other offerings, but the Eos not only feels more special and more rewarding, it is likely to hold more of its value when it comes time to sell.
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