Cars.com's Joe Wiesenfelder walks you through the 2007 Volkswagen Eos convertible.
Transcript
Hello, I'm Joe Wiesenfelder from Cars.com. And this is the EOS a relatively new retractable hard top convertible from Volkswagen retractable hardtops are becoming more popular and affordable.
Now this might not look like a convertible, maybe a coupe with a really large moon roof, but if you push this horseshoe shape lover down, it goes further. The hard top makes for a quieter cabin than most soft top convertibles. And it's also better for four season driving. (intense music) (intense music) Another neat feature is a global window switch, which allows you to put up all the windows at once with one button. A lot of other manufacturers may have a flip-up windscreen or a powered one. Unfortunately, with the EOS, it's a little more involved. The first numbered step is to flip these flaps out, stretch it forward, and then insert those into the slots and extend prongs on either side. This gives you a screen to protect from wind that can also be flipped down. And also obviously with this in place, you got no backseat given the size of the backseat. You're really not missing that much, though. Always a concern in convertibles is cargo space. It's actually quite good when the top is raised and there's actually even a pass through into the inside of the car, which remains pretty rare in a convertible. As with most retractable hardtops the top has to store in the trunk when it's down. And also common is a partition like this that defines the space. If this is not down to top won't open. Now that the hard top is lowered, you can see the difference. This is the rear window and the rest of the roof, stacked up here. Now there's still a fair amount of room under here, but this role luggage, unfortunately, can't make it out. There are better and worse examples of the same among retractable hard tops. Some of them allow you to hit a button and all of these panels raise and get out of your way. Others have an even smaller space than this. So it's kind of in the middle. One concern we have with the EOS is that the trunk, when the top goes up or down motors back pretty far. So obviously if you were parked in front of a wall or let's say another car, maybe a tall one or an SUV, uh... there's a chance that you would damage it or your EOS. There's a warning on the instrument panel that this is going to happen, but I don't think that's enough to prevent damage. I like the EOS a lot. It's fun to drive. It also has a great place in the market of retractable hard top convertibles between the Pontiac G six and Chrysler Sebring on the low end and the Volvo C 70 on the high end. It's also a nice addition as a convertible for Volkswagen, because let's be honest, there are lots of men out there who are as comfortable driving a Beatle convertible as they are holding their wife's purse. (unknown voice) For additional information on this car or any other go to cars.com and our blog kicking tires.
