Smell the Coffee - Coupes & Covertibles

Coupe cabriolets are all the rage - almost everyone's got one although there are still some traditionalists who have stuck with canvas. We head to coastal north Taranaki in the VW EOS to see if there's enough sun to get the hood down. There is.

Photographed in the Marakopa region Story and photographs by Damien O'Carroll

I have always had a soft spot for small cars that have a bit of mongrel in them. The first Honda CRX, the Peugeot 205 Gti, the original Mini - small cars you could quite easily tootle around town in without a hint of what they really enjoy, but show them a twisty bit of blacktop and they come alive. The mongrel comes out.

Looking at the Volkswagen Eos, you wouldn't think it had any mongrel in it.

It is a fine European purebred with all the right genes. Somewhat cutely fashioned in the style of other folding hard top convertibles, but with a hint of aggression in its wide-wheeled stance.

If, say, the Peugeot 207cc could be described as 'cute' in the sense that a Guinea pig is 'cute', then the Eos is probably best described as a slightly annoyed Guinea pig - still cute, but an angry looking kind of cute.

Avoiding the more unfortunate styling inherent in the folding hard-top design, the Eos' smooth lines look good with the top up or down, and the interior is a classy place to do business, with its fat leather steering wheel and brushed aluminium highlights.

But the cute, if slightly annoyed, Guinea pig does have a streak of mongrel hidden within it, and it soon becomes apparent when you point it at a winding piece of road.


First impressions are of a set-up that is slightly at odds with the styling of the car - the firm suspension and meaty steering are a surprise - but get it out on the road and it soon becomes clear that, unlike the majority of it's competitors, this is a car that has been set up for getting as much enjoyment out of the driving experience as you do out of impressing people with the mechanical ballet of the folding roof.

The 147kw 2-litre turbo FSI engine is an eager performer, propelling the little VW with great enthusiasm, but with a rather disappointingly bland sound. Volkswagen claim the Eos takes 7.9 seconds to reach 100km/h, but it feels faster than that, and the surprising lack of traction control frequently sees the front tyres scrabbling for grip as the torquey (280Nm @ 1800rpm) turbo engine launches it off the line.

The inclusion of stability control, but lack of traction control seems odd, but I soon found it to be slightly endearing. It adds to the character of the car and brings out the streak of mongrel that makes the Eos a fun car to actually drive, as opposed to cruise past cafes in. And it is only really an issue if you give it a bootful away from the lights anyway, which can be good or bad, depending on whether you like that sort of behaviour.


Out on a back road, though, is where the Eos really comes alive. Throw it into some twisty bits and the chassis laps it up, responding eagerly to your instructions through the electromechanical steering, which is nicely direct and well weighted, and while the feedback through the steering wheel is slightly muted it still has a nice feel to it.

The body flexes a bit, especially with the top down, but it isn't a big issue and doesn't distract from the fun. What does distract, however, is the red backlighting of the multifunction display located in between the gauges. It's garish and unattractive, especially when compared to the pleasant blue lighting of the rest of the instruments.

The six-speed manual fitted to the test car is a willing partner in crime with the engine, but New Zealand customer cars will only be fitted with Volkswagen's dual clutch DSG gearbox. With its steering wheel paddles and fast shift action, the DSG should only enhance the Eos' driving experience.

The stability control is a nice, unobtrusive back up in case ability is exceeded by enthusiasm. If things go very wrong indeed, and you manage to outwit the electronic nanny, the Eos has a full array of standard safety equipment that will deploy on demand, depending on the degree of nastiness involved.

Combined front, side and head airbags will be the first to go off, followed by the active rollover protection system which pops out from behind the rear seats, if you manage to get things that badly wrong.


Among the options available are 18" alloy wheels, leather upholstery, electric front seats, active bi-xenon headlights, a bluetooth phone kit and a couple of audio options that can add up to some serious money on top of the Eos' $53,990 asking price. For that money though, the Eos comes well equipped as standard with, among other things, full electrics, dual zone air conditioning, cruise control, rain sensing wipers, LED taillights, 17" alloys, remote central locking with an immobiliser and of course, that folding hard top which also features a sliding sun roof.

The hard top is a cunning 5-piece design that takes about 25 seconds to slide its way into the boot, vastly impressing any children who happen to be nearby, and transforming the Eos from coupe to convertible with the minimum of effort. Luggage space is, of course, severely compromised with the top down, and as a result the Eos only has a space saver spare.

Overall the Eos is a lot of fun, the boulevard cruiser styling hides a surprisingly enthusiastic drive, top up or down. That'll be that streak of mongrel I like so much then.

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