Jim Ellis Volkswagen Atlanta

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Walk Around

The Volkswagen Eos solves an age-old styling challenge for convertibles. Generally speaking, a convertible with the soft top up does not look as good as a coupe version of the same car. Even classic greats such as the E-type Jaguar looked much sexier as a coupe. Of course, once the top is down all is forgiven, as convertibles then look the way they should.

When the top is up on the Volkswagen Eos it doesn't look anything like a soft-top convertible. Admittedly it's not eye-poppingly attractive or truly sexy, but it's acceptable. In many ways the Eos is a cross between a Jetta or even a Passat and a GTI. That's appropriate, as it's built off a combination of the three cars. Eos shares its 101.5-inch wheelbase (the distance from the center of the front wheels to the center of the rear wheels) with the GTI and Jetta; while, bumper-to-bumper, the Eos measures about eight inches longer than a GTI and about six inches shorter than a Jetta.

The front of the Eos has the unmistakable VW family look with its in-your-face grille surrounded by plenty of chrome. The sleek covered multifaceted headlights blend into the fender and hood while the edge of the hood continues as a flowing unbroken line back to the rear of the car. The windshield has a low sloping rake to it and, in keeping with the coupe look, there are no B-pillars. Even the C-pillar is not too large. It's certainly way smaller than it would be if Eos were a traditional soft-top convertible.

The glass roof gives the Eos a unique look even with the top up. It provides one of the largest openings for a sunroof available in any car as it covers nearly the full width of the roof, even if it does not slide back as far as most sunroofs.

The trunk has a large flat top to it, which is necessary as it has to rise up to accept the whole roof and its mechanism when the top folds down.

Watching the roof fold away is enthralling. In just 25 seconds the top of the roof rises up, the trunk lid opens and the rear window folds up. Then the pieces neatly arrange themselves on top of each other and park themselves in the trunk before the lid closes, hiding everything away from prying eyes and giving the Eos a clean flowing look. It's all done by computer-controlled hydraulics. A remote control on the key fob lets the owner raise or lower the roof while standing away from the car.

An optional feature that could prove invaluable is the Park Distance Control sensor that warns if an object is in the way of the roof or trunk when the mechanism starts to open. (The trunk lid rotates back some distance, and the roof rises a foot or more above the car's closed roofline.)

Interior

2009 Volkswagen Eos

It looks small outside, but the Volkswagen Eos is roomy inside. Front seat passengers will find the Eos as roomy as a Jetta, with adequate headroom and plenty of hip room.

Obviously, with the top down headroom is unlimited, but even with it up rear seat passengers will find it acceptable unless they are near six feet tall. Getting into the back seat is made much easier than usual; not only do the front seatbacks fold down, but the seat moves up to provide easier access. Legroom in the back is tight unless the front occupants move their seats forward.

Because part of the folding roof structure has to reside within the side panels when lowered, there is less usable width available for the rear seats, so it's not possible to seat three people in the back seat. The rear seatback is also more vertical than in the Jetta or GTI, as a result of creating maximum space for storage of the folded roof, making it less comfortable.

With the roof in place the rear seats are a trifle claustrophobic, although not that much worse than in most small coupes. The Eos is not a car for taking rear-seat passengers any great distance, but for cruising around town or at the beach with the top down it's a charm.

Passenger safety is enhanced by an active protection system whereby a roll bar in the rear pops up within a quarter of a second when sensors sense a serious accident is about to occur. Coupled with an extremely stiff front windshield frame this helps protect passengers in a rollover.

The dashboard in the Eos is similar to that found in the Jetta and GTI. It's the same layout with some changes to the trim. That's a good thing because the interior of the Jetta is regarded as being one of the nicest in this price range. The air vents are trimmed out with thin surrounds in brushed aluminum that set them off nicely. Lux models are trimmed with a strip of walnut stretching across the lower edge of the dashboard; another piece covers the area ahead of the gearshift in the center console.

We found the navigation system worked well. Unfortunately it's not as easy to view the screen it should be when the roof is open, because the screen is not shielded from the sunlight.

The speedometer and tachometer are located in two nice big round gauges in a compact instrument pod. Although they are easy to read, neither is in the center of the instrument cluster, which some drivers find disconcerting. Instead, there is an LCD in the center providing readouts and warnings. The analog coolant temperature and fuel gauges are also located between the speedometer and tachometer.

The trunk is a decent size with the top up, offering 10.5 cubic feet of storage space, which is not bad for a sporty coupe. A retractable cover has to be latched in place before the top can be lowered, to be sure that no luggage or other items are intruding into the space where the folded top has to go. With this cover in place the storage space shrinks to 6.6 cubic feet, similar to that of a two-seat sports car. Think of that as the price for the hardtop with the built-in sunroof and glass rear window, and it's not too bad a compromise. When you go on long trips you'll probably need to keep the top up. A lockable door in the center of the rear seatback allows loading long items, such as skis, through from the trunk.

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