Volkswagen Eos 1.4 TSI Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Volkswagen Eos 1.4 TSI range
Prices: £20,695-£23,855 – on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 10-13
Emissions: 144-159g/km
Performance: [1.4 TSI 120] Max Speed 122mph / 0-60mph 10.9s
Fuel Consumption: [1.4 TSI 120] (urban) 33.2mpg / (extra urban) 52.3mpg / (combined) 43.5mpg
Safety: Six airbags / ABS / ESP / rollover protection
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height mm 4410/1790/1440

ROOFLESS EFFICENCY

Our Rating: 7.7 / 10

Taking an elegant convertible and fitting it with a modest 1.4-litre engine seems a sure fire way to scupper its appeal. Can Volkswagen’s Eos still sparkle with 1.4 TSI power? Steve Walker reports

The open-topped motoring idyll can have a powerful effect. Every year it seduces thousands of us to spend vast sums of cash on cars without a roofs, this in a country with a climate that’s wetter than a mackerel’s mouthorgan. Show a convertible car to a British citizen and within seconds they’ll have mentally transported themselves off to an automotive utopia where they’re barrelling down rural lanes, the engine singing, the wind in their hair and the leaves left swirling in their wake. It’s beautiful but it all kind of hinges on the car having a bit of grunt. Does the dream sequence still hang together convincingly when the glorious convertible is powered by a measly 1.4-litre petrol engine? With Volkswagen’s Eos 1.4 TSI, there’s a chance it might.

It’s true, 1.4-litres doesn’t sound like a lot of engine for your dream drop-top, especially when the car in question is the elegant but sturdy Volkswagen Eos which comes complete with a weighty folding metal roof. You’d be right not to expect too much from the 1.4 TSI under these testing circumstances but this is no ordinary engine. The powerplant arrived to replace the entry-level 1.6-litre FSI unit that the Eos was launched with but by using advanced turbocharging technology it offers more power and greater flexibility. Don’t give up on the dream just yet.

The 1.4-litre TSI engine as found in the Eos is not to be confused with the 1.4-litre TSI Twincharge engine that debuted in the Volkswagen Golf in 2006. That unit uses a turbocharger and a supercharger to produce either 140 or 170PS but this 1.4 TSI makes do with just the turbo and the result is 120PS or 160PS, depending on the tune you choose. That’s a decent amount to get from a 1,390cc engine but what’s most impressive is the way the power is delivered. Turbocharged engines of yesteryear always tended to deliver a pregnant pause between the application of the throttle at low revs and the power arriving at the wheels. This turbo lag is successfully banished in the 1.4-litre TSI Eos which manages to make its maximum torque of 200Nm available from 1,500rpm all the way up to 4,000rpm. Prod the accelerator anywhere in this wide power band and you’re rewarded with a fast, smooth flow of acceleration. In the entry-level version, 120PS is never going to turn the Eos into a rocketship but it’s acceptably rapid with a 0-60mph time of 10.9s and a 122mph top speed.

The Eos manages to disguise its bulk on the road far more effectively than most folding hard-top convertibles. It’s reasonably taut through the bends and shudders or vibrations that would betray a lack of rigidity caused by an absent roof and largely absent themselves. The suspension is tuned for comfort in the entry-level trim that the 1.4 TSI engine is available in so the ride is smooth rather than sporty but the Eos can still be hurried along and is a rewarding car to drive in a way that very few of its rivals can replicate. With the roof up, the Eos is extremely refined and you’d be hard pushed to tell that it had the capacity to convert itself such is the lack of wind noise and the hushed engine note.

The acid test of any car of this ilk is how it looks with the roof in place, as many have curiously distended posteriors. There is a slight chubbiness to the Eos’ rear but it’s definitely more Jennifer Lopez than Johnny Vegas. With the hood down, there’s no debate. The Eos aces all of the opposition in the affordable folding hard-top class, the clean, wedgy hipline and restrained surfacing giving it a very mature yet elegant look. To this eye at least, it’s the best looking Volkswagen since the Corrado. Coming on the heels of the slightly awkward Jetta and Passat models, this was a welcome return to form from a company that had hinted at a sharper design direction with cars like the Golf.

Although Volkswagen have used a number of generic parts beneath the surface, they’ve done a very canny job of giving the Eos its own identity. It must have been financially tempting to slap in a Golf fascia and have done with it. The Golf unit is attractive, functional and cost-effective to produce but instead, the Eos gets a different shape dashboard into which existing switches and dials are slotted. The door mouldings and rear seats are also unique to the Eos. As an option, buyers can select electrically activated easy-entry seats that memorise the driver and front passenger