Vehicle: 2007 VW Eos with Sport Leather Package
Price as tested: CDN$41450
Performance: The Canadian-bound Eos only comes with one single engine. That’s VW’s excellent 2.0 liter 16-valve 4-cylinder unit with direct injection or FSI and turbocharged flavor. Just like the GTI and GLI we tested in the past, its good for 200 horses and 210 lb/ft of torque. The work ethics of this nifty turbo-4 are lovely across the whole powerplant. Not only does it provides wonderful low-end torque, it also never run out of breath at high rpm. The engine also has Teutonic solid and racy sound built right into it. Our tester came with 6-speed stick shift. The clutch pedal is progressive and easily modulated, although the grabbing point is typical VW high. The gearbox ratio is well-matched for Eos’s cruising character. Throws are a bit long but the overall shifting mechanisms are crisp and smooth.
Handling: The Eos is based on one solid foundation, a structure that is perfect for hardtop convertible. The overall solidty of Eos can easily rivalled those of much more expensive Mercedes SLK, which have spoken how much engineering those German engineers have put through in the entire R&D process. The driving dynamics is simple a delight given Eos is built as a blvd cruiser instead of a curve eater, unlike the performance-oriented GTI. The electric-power steering feels sharp and responsive, both the feedback and precision are reassuring. When pushed it into fast sweepers, its stiff body shell doesn’t exhibit any kinds of cowl shakes usually associate with some competitors. There are some safe understeer and body rolls, latter has been very well controlled. The ESP is of an uninstrusive type, which means it won’t kick-in unnecessarily until the driver got too hot around the bend. Ride quality, on the other hand, simply the best in its class. As it absorbs all the roughness, which so-called Canadian roads perfectly. It simply rides like an 80 grand hardtop convertible more than one that’s costing about half as much.
Brakes: With 4-wheel discs and standard ABS, Eos’s braking performance is pretty much well-matched with VW’s usually high standards. The stopping distance is short and pedal easily modulated. The progressive braking typically with European car actually makes the pedal and ABS much more controllable.,
Interior: Inside the Eos, its everything one expects from a VW. To begin with a dashboard that’s covered with top-notch materials. Both the automatic climate control and stereo are placed ergonomically, which means latter is higher than the former for easier use. The leather seats are comfortable. The most surprise fact about Eos is its actually a 4-seater convertible. The back seat is useful with plenty of space for two adults.
This retractable roof takes only 25 seconds to transform a coupe into a convertible. At the same time, Eos scores with industry’s first sliding glass sunroof when the roof is in place. VW called it CSC or Coupe-Sunroof-Convertible. When the weather is chilly and you want to have a romatic gateaway, this glass sunroof is perfect without getting couple freezing by opening the whole roof.
Conclusion: VW has homerun after homerun in recent years. It began with new Passat, Jetta, Rabbit, GTI, City Golf and Jetta. The Eos will be another homerun considered its a three-vehicle-in-one. When you factor in Eos’s delightful handling dynamics and awesome powerplant, its hard to find a better and prettier deal in this price range.
OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2007 VW EOS
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Performance: 5/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 4.5/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4.5/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4.5/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 4/5
Value-for-money: 5/5
Overall rating: 4.5/5