First drive: VW Eos
Newswheel staff :: 28 May 2006 :: Filed under Cabriolet, Coupe, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Eos, Europe & UK,
Just another bonce-buffing barge?
Folding hardtops. They’re heavier, more complex, more expensive to engineer and manufacture and rob you of more luggage space when stowed than a conventional fabric roof. That’s not terribly clever. But sod the intellectual argument: a folding hard top is sexier than a swarm of silicone-enchanced C-list celebs, right? Possibly. And there are at least security and safety advantages. More importantly, however, coupe-cabriolets are simply what Joe Punter wants. And who is VW to deny him? Give it up, therefore, for the Eos, VW’s first folding hardtop model…

Architecturally, the Eos’s oily bits are largely lifted from
fifth-gen Golf hatchback, with a smattering of Passat parts, including
the rear suspension, thrown in for good measure. But unlike the
marginally more mass-market competition, such as the Ford Focus CC,
Vauxhall Astra Twintop and Peugeot 307 CC, the Eos gets its very own
set of clothes. Consequently, it’s seriously sleek and certainly better
executed and more polished than any chop-top Golf of yesteryear. But
funky styling and fast-moving five-piece folding hardtop aside (just 25
seconds are required for the roof to open or close), does the Eos add
up to much more than a fancy Golf?
Well, it’s certainly no
lightweight, with the entry-level 1.6-litre model only just squeezing
in under 1,600kg. Still, a mild case of elephantitus is never a bad
thing for ride quality, and the Eos is nothing if not a smooth and
accomplished cruiser. As for corner carving, it steers and grips
adequately, doesn’t roll much and copes with well with bumps at speed
without ever betraying a hint of enthusiasm for press-on driving. In
short, the Eos is a typical modern front-drive motor: effective for getting from A
to B, but you certainly won’t bother making the detour to C just for
the hell of it. It’s also pretty solid barge for a chop-top,
displaying relatively little shudder, judder, rattle or hum over broken
surfaces. OK, it’s not absolutely impregnable in that regard (we think
we noticed one extremely minor instance of dashboard movement over the
lumps), but it’s a competent enough piece of engineering all the same.

Engine-wise, at launch the Eos is available with a range of awfully familiar 2-litre four-pot VW lumps: a 148bhp FSI petrol, the 197bhp T-FSI turbo as per Golf GTI and a torquey 138bhp TDI diesel. Later this year, a poverty-spec 1.6-litre 113bhp petrol four will be added, along with the flagship 3.2-litre model, which packs 247bhp from V-Dub’s popular narrow angle V6. All models barring the 1.6-litre will be available with VW’s twin-clutch DSG auto box.
In the metal, the 2.0 FSI is as the 2.0 FSI does in nameless other VW group cars. It’s a pretty soulless contraption, but adequate for most purposes barring traffic light jockeying. The turbo petrol, meanwhile unit does a nice job of exposing the tracton control’s cut-in limits but can’t quite come to terms with the Eos’s portly kerb weight. Make no mistake, even with nearly 200bhp it never feels fast and doesn’t sound remotely sporty. That’s modern four-cylinder motoring for you. You’ll have to wait for the V6 model if you want an Eos with a drivetrain classy enough to do justice to the rest of the car.

The Greek press launch: an exaltation of Eoses. Probably…
But if the Eos fails to earn any award nominations in the showbiz performance and handling categories, it’s hardly a headline maker for the more mundane consideration of practicality, either. Stingy legroom that ensures the rear seats are no more than short journey material is faux pas number one. However, it’s boot space that could be the deal breaker for those considering the Eos for intercontinental cruising. At best, it offers just 380 litres of stowage with the roof up. With the roof lowered, it drops to just 210 liters. To put that into context, the new BMW 3 Series four-door saloon packs 460 litres.

For
the record, the Eos is available in two trim levels, Standard and
Sport. At minimum, all models boast VW’s ESP stability programme, twin
front and combined curtain and side airbags front and rear, semi-auto
aircon, front fog lights, electric windows and door mirrors, a radio/CD
player, parking sensors and 16 inch alloy wheels. Sport models add
17-inch rims, stiffer suspension and the odd cosmetic addenda inside
and out.

So, that’s it folks. The Eos is competent, well
built, short on character and has bugger all boot space. Certainly not
one for well-schooled car lovers and not masterpiece by any metric. But
with prices kicking off at £19,410, still the classiest sub-£20k
coupe-cabriolet around.
The boring bit:
| VW Eos 2.0 T-FSI | |
| Price | £23,315 |
| Capacity | 1984cc |
| Power | 197bhp |
| 0-62mph | 7.8 seconds |
| Maximum speed | 144 mph |
| Economy | 34.5mpg combined |
| CO2 emissions | 197g/km |
| Kerb weight | 1,645kg |
| Insurance | Group 15E |





Posted 06 November 2006, by John Olliver
I took delivery of a fully optioned Eos sport recently and it's great. My previous car was an Alfa Romeo V6 GT, which is probably the best looking car in its price range. However, the VW is so much easier to drive,the ride smoother without any torque steer (the V6 Alfa has a generous helping of this un-nerving feature) with the roof down it's wonderful and surpringly rattle free unlike other open cars I've owned in the past. It's also a lot more economical (mine's the manual petrol version). Apart from its appearance there's nothing I really miss about my old car, maybe its huge performance and fabulous exhaust note ,but I don't need that anymore.