Base price: $29,990
As tested: $31,695
2.0-liter, 200 horsepower
4 cylinder
23 city / 24 highway
More info: www.vw.com
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There's nothing better than cruising around in a convertible. Unless, of course, you live in the snowbelt, and for those three months of bliss in the summer, you have nine months of road noise and cold cutting through your flimsy ragtop. VW's new Eos is the answer. Volkswagen enters the hard-top convertible market with a true four-season convertible that is as happy at negative-5 degrees as on an 80-degree cruise. The Eos has a cool, Audi-inspired grill, but the shell is generic overall. Our tester's white paint job didn't help the cause, but the real beauty of this coupe is the hard-top. It is a marvel of engineering put to the service of driving nirvana.
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Volkswagen has always made restrained, sophisticated interiors, and the Eos is no exception. Blue backlit gauges are accented by easy-to-navigate temperature and radio controls. The comfortable yet supportive bucket seats were covered in a light tan hide that nicely accented the dark hued door and dash moldings. There is plenty of headroom with the top up for even the tallest driver, and the car comes with a first-in-class power moon roof. Interior noise with the top down at highway speeds is unbelievably minimal, and the car is dead quiet with the top up. There is a lot to love about the Eos -- especially at its bargain basement price of just over $30 grand.
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Power comes from VW's ultra-responsive 2.0-liter turbo-charged four cylinder. The motor pumps out 200 horses and 207 lb-ft of torque while getting a very respectable 23 city and 31 highway miles per gallon. Our automatic tester was responsive when pushed and calm when cruising. The suspension is tuned for sporty driving but won't knock out your fillings on rough roads either. In other words, the VW Eos is truly hard to top.
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Make an excuse to open and close the top and you will close the deal.
-- by Chad Doering |
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