Wheeling in the Eos Sport 3.2
There are convertibles, and there are quick convertibles. And, my, you know when you're at the wheel of one of the latter, writes Phil Vaughan.
There are convertibles, and there are quick convertibles. And, my, you know when you're at the wheel of one of the latter when a little flashing blue light pops up in the rear-view mirror.
That happened while weaving the punchy 3.2-litre, V6-engined Volkswagen Eos Sport in and out of traffic on a twin-flow urban dual carriageway, in a bid for earlier relief from the rush-hour rigours.
Nothing illegal here - all speed limits adhered to - but that nippy ducking and diving attracted some friendly advice from a police officer about taking care when undertaking.
Advice duly noted, with a resolve, too, to go easier on the pedal, for the six-speed automatic Eos and its 247bhp output eats up fuel at the rate of 21.1mpg on city roads.
That climbs to 41.4mpg cruising out in the country, and averages out at 30.7mpg overall.
It can touch 62mph in just 7.3 seconds, to validate the pace, and top speed is 154mph.
A drop-top that can do the business needs a solid safety package behind it, especially with the roof down, and the Eos possesses one.
Unseen, but ready to cut in, are fully specified anti-lock brakes, traction control, electronic stability, full front, side and rear airbags, and an anti-roll system with pop-up bars behind the rear headrests if danger threatens. It's all parcelled up with a rigid safety cage.
For £28,400, the two-door Eos Sport 3.2 is really three cars in one. First and foremost, especially in damp old Britain, it works on one level as a dynamic, hard-top coupe, complete with sunroof, with the right sort of racy design to see it go far up the sales chart.
Top down - to fold the five-section roof away is a 25-second task - here's a real looker, a convertible built to provide a lot of pleasure with the weather set fair.
Finally, it's a useful four-seater family car, with a roof-up 380 litres of boot space - about what you'll get in a small hatchback - coming down to 205 litres in open-air mode.
You can have all this appeal for much less than the flagship Eos outlay, provided you don't want the luxury cabin or everything-included kit list.
There's a starter 1.6-litre petrol model for £19,695, and pay around the £22,000 mark for a 2.0-litre petrol or 2.0-litre turbo-diesel, with the latter offering 47.1mpg on the combined cycle.
Think carefully about adding any of the above, because extensive standard kit does Volkswagen proud.
Leather upholstery, with trim on the wheel and gear lever, rain-sensing wipers, heated front seats, tinted glass, rear parking sensors, wide, 17-inch alloy wheels, and auto-dimming rear-view mirror form only a small part of it all.
Altogether a nice, sturdy machine, and in top-down stance it shows a little of VW's fun side, a facet so rarely seen in this German marque.
By Phil Vaughan
