Okay so three weeks and 1500km into life with the Eos here are my humble thoughts
As the car was off loaded in Sydney on the 10th of June in the last gasps of the 30yr storm and I contacted the Dealer on the 14th to check on progress. He rang me back about 6.30pm that evening to say he would have the car on Tuesday and would call me to arrange delivery that week. Got a phone call on Wednesday the 20th asking when I would like to pick the car up and so 9.00am on the 21st was organised.
The car was waiting at the appointed time and the Salesman spent 20 minutes going over the car and its features with me. All in all a professional hand over. A surprise was that the Rear Wind Deflector was in the trunk. I was not aware that this was now standard and neither was the dealer but I am not going to complain
After the rain of the previous week it was sunny and cool but perfect to drop the roof and so I drove the car home with the top down. I was impressed with the overall fit and finish of the car. No signs of any paint or trim problems and the roof and sunroof appeared correctly aligned and the seals looked in good condition. In the last 3 weeks there have been no leaks in the continuing rain or while having the car washed.
Starting with the engine the 2.0 TFSI sounds a little rude at start up which is characteristic of a directly injected engine but after that is smooth and provides plenty of performance in the Eos. The 6-speed manual transmission is accurate and easy to use. It is quite strongly sprung to the 3rd/4th plane though and a little care is needed to make sure that you have 1st gear instead of 3rd but this quickly becomes familiar.
My car has 18” wheels with sport suspension and body control is good with the ride generally good but a little sensitive in the secondary ride to sharp edged ridges and holes which are unfortunately too common on Sydney roads. The car I think looks better on bigger wheels and slightly lowered suspension and definitely handles better but if handling is less of an issue and you appreciate a smoother ride I would perhaps stay with the 17” wheels and standard suspension. Traction is also a little bit of an issue with a lot of throttle from the standing start but the ESP reins this in reasonably well. The steering could use a little more feel as well but then it would be more sensitive to torque steer so it is a compromise in a FWD car. There is a hint of scuttle shake over the above said sharp edged ridges but the body feels solid and with the roof up this goes away.
I have been leaving the sunroof blind open all the time as I enjoy the open feeling this give to the interior with the roof up especially as my car has the black roof lining. Having a sunroof is handy for those days where the weather is changeable and the 25 seconds for the roof operation is a handicap along with the requirement to be stationary. You need to use the windscreen wind deflector up to lower the noise and buffeting unless you have the windows down. The switch for the sunroof I initially found seemed to operate in the wrong sense with pushing down to open the sunroof and up to close it but this operates in the same sense as the roof so you do get used to it. You have to have the ignition in the on position to move the roof, sunroof and windows which I find a little annoying as the previous cars had power to the sunroof and windows after the ignition was switched off for a period of time but again you do get used to it.
The roof has worked flawlessly and the car looks better with the roof down in my opinion. I have used the rear wind deflector with the roof down if there are no more than two of us and it works well. I think it is better if you have the rear windows down in this configuration as it seems to reduce a little of the back flow to the front of the car but this is a winter only issue. The heated seats and climate control work well and the car is comfortable in single digit temperatures except when it is very windy and you are stationary for longer periods in traffic.
The seats are comfortable and adjust easily. Rear access is good and the rear foot well lights are appreciated at night. I don’t have the electric seat option and didn’t order it because of the lack of memory function. The handles on the front seat back to access the rear seats are a little flimsy in operation and need to be pulled straight up to activate them without any sideways, front or rear pressure. Just a little care needed in a cabin where all other controls seem robust and easy to use. I would note that similar handles in the Volvo C70 are the same. To move the seat back to its original position first pull or push the seat rearwards to position the seat squab to its original position and then pull the handle to reposition the seatback. I have the Napa Leather and from what I can tell only the front facings of the front seats and the entire rear seats are leather. All the other surfaces including the front seat headrest and all armrests including the centre one apart from the steering wheel, gearshift and handbrake lever would appear not to be leather.
The Dynaudio system is great with plenty of power and brilliant tone. It is of course source dependant and listening to CDs gives very similar results to a good quality home system. If your musical tastes run to deep bass that literally moves your body then you may be a little disappointed in the bass as there is no sub-woofer but with four woofers there is plenty of bass response. The best way for me to describe the sound is to say it has real depth and presence particularly when listening to jazz or classical music and if you like your music I think you will appreciate it. I also have the iPod connection and using a high bit rate there is a slight loss in the quality but a large leap in convenience as far as music on the road is concerned. You can keep it locked in the glove box and as it recharges the iPod battery you are all set to go when you want to leave the car and use your iPod. However the usual VW limitations apply here with regard to the lack of track information on the radio display etc.
I also have the VW blue tooth kit which is a Parrot unit. Your mobile phone needs to have voice dialling capability and it also lacks any caller id on the radio display. As a solution it works but lacks seamless integration which VW appears to have fixed with the new units that just have just been released in Europe.
So overall everything works as advertised, the fit and finish are first rate and while some of the interior plastics lack a little of that Audi richness they will probably stand up to the wear and tear of a convertible life a little better.
And as the MasterCard ad says putting the roof down – priceless
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