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In Greek mythology, Eos is the goddess of the dawn (her Roman counterpart would be Aurora, last used as a car name by Oldsmobile—remember them?—in the 1990s). The new Volkswagen Eos marks the dawning of a new type of VW—not a hardtop, and not a convertible, but a bit of both. It’s the first Volkswagen to come with a retractable hardtop, which folds flat to let the sun shine through with just a flick of the button.
Although superficially resembling the old VW Cabriolet, this new model is built, like the Cabriolet, on a Golf platform (that’s Rabbit to us, now), but with a suspension system borrowed from the larger Passat sedan. And any resemblance to the Cabriolet pales when trying out the convertible nature of the Eos. Not only does the hardtop smoothly retract into the rear decklid in one fell swoop, but the hardtop actually has a sunroof in it—perfect for those occasions when you want the sun to shine in, but not subject your hair to high-velocity airflow while doing 70 on the Interstate. It takes five pieces to make up the hardtop/sunroof combination, and they stow away in the back in 28 seconds, which is about middle-of-the-pack in convertible hardtop terms. One you’ve lowered the top, however, trunk space shrinks down to where you can only put a couple of pieces of luggage (or briefcases) in there. The engine in the Eos is Volkswagen’s 2.0 litre turbocharged four-cylinder, and it’s one of the best turbos on the market; there’s no discernible turbo lag, and fuel economy is very respectable for this type of engine: the EPA says 23 mpg city, 32 highway (the test car got 21 mpg in the suburbs). You will need premium fuel, though; otherwise, you won’t get good performance from this engine. If you figure that premium fuel only adds roughly $150 to your gasoline expense over the course of the year, it’s well worth it for the enjoyment this quickly responsive engine will give you. However, the reviewer of this car had problems with the electrical system, causing it to stall when parked at the gas pumps. VW blamed that on the fact that the car was one that had been on the auto show circuit, and then had been loaned out to various media outlets; apparently the battery cable hadn’t been tightened properly following one of the auto shows (where they routinely disconnect the battery when the car is on the show floor). Meanwhile, while sussing out that problem, the dealer reported a missing seal in the air-intake system—which probably couldn’t be blamed on either the auto shows or the press circuit. Suddenly all those stories about VW’s reliability came to mind—although Volkswagen claims that the problems with this car were an aberration, and that its quality has improved, this incident marred an otherwise pleasant time spent with the car. Because, when the car was working, it was great fun to drive—possessed with that sporty, tight feel of German engineering that automotive enthusiasts crave. Our take? Let’s hope these mechanical incidents were an aberration, because we think an Eos owner would want to rise early each morning to greet their own goddess of the dawn in their driveway.
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