Convertibles have never been on my shopping list. Yes, they are mostly drop-dead beautiful and add another dimension to motoring. And there can be little to beat cruising one on a beautiful mid-summer moonlit evening with the wind in your hair and the scent of blooming flowers wafting gently by and...

Hello? What the hell am I wafting on about? I’m a dyed in the wool petrol head, one who’s been deeply immersed with performance cars since he can remember. What’s more, when someone refers to a car such as the good-looking Volkswagen Eos 2.0T as a ‘she’, I recoil at the suggestion.

Good-looking ‘it’ is, but not as a ‘she’. Convertibles may be beautiful because you can take their tops are down. (Pun unintended). But that’s the problem. You see, because of this, they suffer from the dreaded scuttle-sake syndrome. Even though the Eos has a bespoken chassis and not stolen from its saloon sibling with the roof removed, it still suffers with the ‘shake’ malady.

For those unschooled in road holding purity it matters little. But for those who thrive on road holding perfection most 4-seater convertibles are a letdown. I speak so because I drove the BMW 335i convertible the other day that surely must be the product of motoring geniuses. For the first time ever, 4-seater convertibles can compete with their saloon siblings.

However when it comes to performance the Eos can live with most sporty saloons. But here again, it weighs some 120kg more than its sibling GTi to further exacerbate refined road manners and dynamic performance. The same 2.0T engine in the impressive GTi sibling cuts acceleration times from standstill to 100km/h to 7.5 seconds from 9.0.

As in the GTi, the 2.0T FSI engine proved a honey. Response and outputs are enough to lift anyone’s spirits, the lively engine simply demanding to be thrashed. As far as the Eos’ convertible rivals go, in our 4-way shootout in our May 2007 issue, it proved the best by some margin too, pitted as it was against the Opel Astra Twin Top 2.0T, Renault Megane CC 2.0 Dynamique and even the bigger Volvo C70 T5 AT.

However - and as is the case with most convertibles at present - the Eos proved a head-turner of note. The all-steel convertible top now adds that coupe look, offering another beautiful dimension when it’s up. And, without a doubt the wind-in-your-hair brigade couldn’t give two hoots whether the Eos suffers with scuttle shake or that it has a weight disadvantage. Lounging comfortably in that slick Eos cockpit only they know how pleasing it is to have the wind in their hair in topless mode.

Though at R365 000 the Eos is somewhat expensive, at least it’s not a rehash of a current saloon sibling with its bespoken body, which adds an even more personal touch to their world.

Page: 1 of 2 - next