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2007 Volkswagen Eos 2.0T
by J.T. Hills - SGN Contributing Writer TOP Retractable top is a sight to behold Nimble and Fun to drive Respectable fuel efficiency @ 23 mpg city and 31 hwy BOTTOM Stereo and A/C controls are awkward to find Back seat is really only useful for small children Minimal trunk storage space Volkswagen has had a rough couple of years. The momentum in sales of great styling and popular cars of the late nineties came to a halt with the current generation of Jetta's. Somehow Volkswagen lost its sex appeal, or maybe even its soul. Gone was the stylish conservative lines and high quality German engineering, and in was something that felt and looked more like a Toyota Corolla sans the reliability. New for 2007, Volkswagen has come out with a sprite hardtop convertible called the Eos, named after the Greek goddess of dawn. After a week with the 2007 Eos I've compiled a brass tacks list of highly technical scientific data based upon observations, experimentation, tabulations, inspections and so forth. Here we go: So is the Eos a new dawn for Volkswagen enthusiasts? There are some cars out there that are purely utilitarian. You go to and fro from the office to home, maybe drop by the grocery, you get respectable gas mileage, and there's no real emotional connection to what you are driving. The Eos on the other hand, is a bit sassy and naughty in its conservative German drop top shell. I've found my favorite way to test a car is to take it on a road trip. So I headed up to Bellingham to visit a friend, and do a little bit of local sight seeing. The most obvious and tantalizing part on the Eos is its retractable hard-top. A sight to behold, this hard top comes with a panoramic sunroof, for those I'm-stuck-on-the-freeway-with-only-15-minutes-of-sunshine days, and a full glass rear window with defrost, for just cold days. For those sunny days though, the whole thing retracts into the trunk at the touch of a button in only 25 seconds. No annoying latches, hinges, broken nails or anything. For a compact convertible, one is instantly taken in by the amount of interior space, in the front seats. I'm a statuesque 6 ft 4, and I found that there was amble head and leg room. The Eos also comes with a standard 12-way power drive seat and 8-way manual passenger seat that are both heated. It also comes with standard dual zone climate control, which I found is a great way to keep your backseat driver from complaining about the temperature. The only miss with the interior layout is that the controls for the stereo and climate control are a bit far to reach and are not exactly intuitive to find. The back seat is also only good for a day bag and a small dog. I won't even get into the trunk, probably because you couldn't either. It's really only good for a piece of carry-on luggage. My test car came with the base 2.0 liter, 200 hp turbo charged inline 4-cylindar direct injected engine combined with the optional 6-speed automatic DSG transmission ($1,075). From all the reports, if you're going to splurge on an option, the DSG tranny is the way to go. You'll find that you spend more time enjoying driving the car, than constantly downshifting to take full advantage of the 2.0 liters 207 lbs-ft of torque. You'll also find a negligible difference in gas mileage compared to the standard transmission, at 23 mpg city and 31 mpg hwy. The Eos is fun and nimble with exceptional balance in cornering. I found an accelerated drive down Chuckanut Drive with the top down and the stereo blaring is something that brings a smile to your face, although fear to my passenger. The thing that I really noticed about the Eos was how much interest it drew. Pulling into the gas station or stuck at a red light, people of all ages would comment on how great the car looked or would just give a simple thumbs up. OK, for a before tax price of $31,695, what do you get? The base Eos 2.0T actually comes with a long list of stand features. A quick look at the favorites includes: Performance 2.0 liter 200 hp in-line four cylinder turbo charged engine Speed variable power steering Electronic stability Anti-slip, electronic differential, ABS Safety Driver and front passenger front airbags, combined curtain and side airbags Fog lamps LED taillights Rear head restraints and rollover protection Comfort and Convenience Dual zone climate control Trip computer Height adjustable telescoping steering wheel 12-way power drivers seat and 8-manual adjustable passenger seat, both heated Options 6-speed automatic DSG transmission ($1,075)