A Revisit to the Eos: VW's Hardtop Cabrio Gets a Facelift

[tom@vwvortex]

Introduced to the US at the end of 2006, Volkswagen’s Eos was marketed as “The only hardtop convertible with a sunroof,” and VW touted its blend of year round usefulness and top down fun. While traditional soft top convertibles allow you the same ability to cruise with the roof down, enjoying the sunshine and warm breezes, that does presuppose that you live somewhere that affords you that kind of weather on a regular basis.The soft top convertible, to someone living in Southern California, is a thing of beauty. To someone living trough the snowy winters of the Northeast, an ice-encrusted soft top can become a source of endless headaches that preferably spends the winters inside a garage. The hardtop convertible, so the logic goes, is the ideal solution to this dilemma - it gives you the fun of a droptop on those nice days, and yet retains the utility of a hardtop when you need it.

FULL STORY

[I haz cheezeburgerz]

looks nice
I've always liked the Eos.

[VW1.8Tsunami]

Any head-on shots?

[KahviVW]

That's a nice blue.

I wish VW offered the cheaper Golf cabrio here instead. There would be a larger market for it.

[yeah boz]

TDI in the Eos would make it more appealing to me.

[XenoLlama]

It is a definate improvement on the car, theres one in this blue thats been on the local lot for a couple weeks now. Very pretty color.

[ajz9415]

TDI in the Eos would make it more appealing to me.

If there was a TDI in the EOS it would be in my driveway already

[Tim@VMG]

That's a nice blue.

It's Rising Blue, which will also be available on the Golf R in our market.

-Tim

[steaguejr]

I like it but I don't like the way VW is going about HIDs in the cars. You have to pay $$$$ for the highend model just to get some nice lights.

[Road Boss]

Looks more like a golf/jetta now.

[harveyJ]

It's an OK car to drive - especially with the manual transmission - , but I prefer the look of a ragtop, the operating speed of a ragtop, the simplicity of the ragtop, the better gas milage of the Golf Cabrio, the smaller footprint of the Cabrio.

[VW_Hippie]

I couldn't agree more with HarveyJ. I know the golf cabrio would crush the eos in sales here in north america. Silly VW just doesn't know what to bring to the party here in north america.

[NeoAtreides]

And don't forget, this car STARTS in the mid 30s now, and a fully loaded model is into the 40s. For that money in 2007, it came with the v6 which turned this into a much nicer car to drive.

[borapumpkin]

and it will probably cost $36k +

[Zaris]

If only the 2012 had a manual transmission in the states, I would be signing and driving it right now. The 2012 Eos look is a great improvement from what I thought was kinda girly, though the front reminds me of a Jetta every now and then.

[Jedidub]

It looks alot more masculine now but still a chicks car in my book however I have faith in the vortex and know someone will drop it on some 19"s and make it look sick.

[gti dreamn]

As with the new Passat and the new Jetta, this new corporate front does not stir any emotion. The rear is fine and nicely done; plain, simple, elegant and functional, although I do miss amber rear indicators.

The front is bland, boring, and void of emotion. I enjoyed the previous front of the EOS with the oblong, circular headlights. The went well with the car and were also similar to those of the CC and helped sort of tie the two cars together.

Why has VWoA chosen to go with this dull, accountant-esqe route with their main cars. The Tiguan and T-reg-II have nicely styled front lights and grill, yet the Jetta/Passat/EOS have a, to me at least, redone Accord front.

Personally, I think VWoA could have done a better job with this new front and given it some more emotion. Hopefully this is just a phase and will pass in a year or two.

[VWRedux]

This facelift is actually old news. We had pix late last year. Very nice car... a little too heavy. Needs more power IMO.

Best head on I can find...

[VWRedux]

This facelift is actually old news. We had pix late last year. Very nice car... a little too heavy. Needs more power IMO.

Any head-on shots?

Best head on I can find...

[vwdeluxe]

I have been enamored with the Eos since its debut as a 2007 model, when, slightly hesitant about it's somewhat bulbous styling, I decided to get a BMW Z4. When that lease was done, I thought about the Eos again in 2009 but the styling still played a role and I decided on the BMW 128i Convertible. Now that lease has ended and VW has decided to address my main issue with the Eos and give it a facelift. I know that the styling changes have stirred a lot of debate among older Eos owners and VW owners, but I love the updates! That, combined with some VW incentives (after rebates and discounts, I was at $31K and 0%) and a slow sales market made buying a 2012 Eos win win in my book. Definitely a very different animal from my 1-series, the Eos is sporty, fun, fuel efficient and a down right bargain. Comparably equipped, it was 10K less than the BMW and offers the hardtop AND sunroof, which was indeed the biggest advantage/selling feature for me. The turbo/DSG has taken some getting used to, but I have so far found the Eos to be a delight.

Having just returned from the Frankfurt Motor show and a trip to VW's Autostadt, I agree with some of the earlier posts here that had the Golf Cabrio been offered in the US market (and with the TDI) it would be sitting in my garage instead! Maybe next time around - are you listening VW?

Just my .02 cents

[Katakisan]

I have never been able to appreciate the lines of the EOS; it's inescapably unmanly, just like the New Beetle, and every edition of the Mazda Miata. Though the Miata is a formidable driver's car it's styling seems intent on actively sucking testosterone out of the universe. The EOS makes the same impression. It just does. It's a sad day when so much time and effort is spent on a car that ends up looking as exciting to drive as a park bench.

[DZD]

Tom/anyone - do you have details on what is included in the "Sport Suspension"?

Thanks.

[GVZBORA]

They need to make an AWD R version of this then it will catch my interest. but that would probably put it into the $50K's.

[Tim@VMG]

Tom/anyone - do you have details on what is included in the "Sport Suspension"?

Thanks.

I still have the window sticker from the test car I used for the article at home somewhere. I'll look it up for you tonight when I get home.

-Tim

[gti dreamn]

I have never been able to appreciate the lines of the EOS; it's inescapably unmanly, just like the New Beetle, and every edition of the Mazda Miata.

VW needs to add the GLI front end treatment to the EOS. The subtle changes in the grill and lower bumper inserts would spice up the front and give the EOS a nice aggressive look.

[Ken1.8T]

I've been a VW owner since 2001, first with a 2002 Jetta 1.8T GLS and now with a 2003 Passat GLX. I went into the dealer for the first time in years as the recent VW offerings have not interested me much. I went in on a quiet, warm Sunday afternoon in the fall to look at and sit in the new Passat. I could not keep my eyes off of the EOS though. The EOS has not moved me in the past but this new model caught my eye. Hmm. Like my Passat but want to have a "fun" car...thinking GTI...no GTI in the showroom to speak of, that's the car I'd like to get into next. BUT that EOS, wow. I ended going out for a test drive in a silver EOS Komfort with black interior. I really liked it, wow. Top down, no wind in my hair on the highway, how can that be? Now I'm trying to figure out how I can fit this $34,765 EOS Komfort into my budget!!!