Specifications
Maximum speed:
230km/h, 0-100km/h 7.8sec.
Combined fuel economy:
8.44 litres/100km.
Price:
£23 315 (about R304 000).
London, England - We've swooned over the new Golf's multilink suspension and been slightly repulsed by its fatty sibling, the Golf Plus but, so far, there's been no sign of that great Sloaney chariot the "strawberry basket" convertible Golf.
Well, here it is. Kind of. The new VW Eos - named after the Greek god of headscarves - is actually half Golf, half Passat. And here's my first problem...
Making a convertible Passat is like making Angela Merkel(Germany's first woman chancellor) wear a thong. Passats are fine and worthy. They are also as durable as lederhosen but unfortunately they have a similar sexual allure.
A convertible should set your nethers a-quiver but a Passat really isn't going to pump anyone's Li-Lo.
The other problem is that if you own an Eos you will feel obliged to drop its magnificently complex folding roof at every glimpse of sun and, frankly, if God had meant us to drive around at high speed with our faces open to the elements, he would have given us fla...
Ah, hello, sorry but this is Michael's wife. I've managed to lure Michael away from the computer for a few moments by telling him there was something on the news about a terrible accident involving farm machinery and Jeremy Clarkson (never seen him move so fast).
I happened to read over his shoulder that he was about to launch into his anti-convertible rant yet again. You've probably only read this a few times but Michael insists on reading his articles out loud to the family after dinner every day - with a quiz afterwards - and I must have heard him moaning about the "blackened bogies" and "frizzy hair" a dozen times.
I've had enough.
I can tell you that the VW was really, really great. It looks much nicer than those French folding-hardtop cars and it's cheaper than a Volvo C70. I do like the look of the Vauxhall Astra TwinTop but Michael is an awful snob so he would never allow one of those near the house.
Like most journalists, he's obsessed with "chavs" WHAT IS A CHAV??? and terrified of being labelled as one, but the Eos isn't the least bit chavvy. It has this spectacular folding metal roof which is great for security and has a huge sunroof built into it so you can adjust your exposure to match the weather - or, in Michael's case, closely monitor the effects of the sun on your slaphead.
Turbo version
I loved the size of the boot, which was huge for this kind of car, and the kids had plenty of room in the back. Unlike Michael, I don't go all giggly around high-powered sports cars (I once saw him lick a Ferrari, but I've never mentioned it to anyone in case they got the wrong idea - and he is harmless, essentially) but that doesn't mean I don't like to welly it from time to time.
This was the turbo version so there was plenty of power. Forget what Michael says about it being "as sexy as lederhosen", he's had a thing about lederhosen ever since his mum made him wear them as a child,
Driving with the roof down is really lovely. I thought the Eos was definitely a sexy car and really nicely proportioned.
Michael's coming back upstairs now so I'd better go, but remember, as far as convertibles go, he hasn't the faintest clue what he's talking about.
...anyway, it looks like I've run out of space so I'd better end. (Is it me, or is this page getting smaller by the week?) In summary then: I was very impressed by the Eos.
Just make sure you keep the roof up. - The Independent, London