Today is

By: Ikedi Ani-okoye

Volks Wagen Eos

Eos, the Greek goddess of the dawn, would wake everyday and open the gates of heaven so that her brother Hellos tthe sun) could ride his chariot across the sky. According to Homer (the bloke who wrote the lliad, not the one married to Marge), she was a beautiful woman whose yellow robe was embroidered with flowers.

On the other hand, George Lucas - creator of Star Wars - reckoned Eos was the secret laxation of a Trade Federation droid factory, providing many Voids and ships for the invasion of Naboo, Volkswagen probably had the first Eos in mind when naming its latest model.

There's a pleasing symmetry about Eos, the goddess, doing her bit to let the sun in and Eos, the car, doing much the same thing at the touch of a button. For the Volkswagen Eos is the latest in a long line of coup&-cabriolets - hard-top conveftibles that combine the best of both worlds. You get the security and winter comfort of a cough and the instant sunshine of a traditional convertible when the conditions allow: 25 seconds is all it takes for the roof to fold away into the boot.

Mind you, the German firm could just as easily have had the Star Wars version in mind when creating the car: we are being invaded by the things at the moment. The CC idea began a few years back with the Mercedes SLK and was taken up shortly afterwards by Peugeot's little 206 CC. (and yes, know about the American Ford Skyliner of the 1e50s and the Peugeot Darl'Mat hardtop convertible of the 1930s... but I'm talking modern times here.) Anyway, for a while the SLK and 206 had the
market to themselves. But now if you haven't got a collapsible tin-top in your range, you're old news glistening Audi and Saab?).

The choice is huge. As well as the Mere, Pug and now lhN, there's the Renault Megane, Peugeot 307, Volvo C70, Vauxhall Astra, Lexus SC430, Nissan Micro and Colt CZC. The Ford Focus version is due any minute, while BMW is said to be readying a 3-Series CC. Even Mazda's little MX5 roadster, a traditional ragtop two-seater, has now got a folding hardtop option. So if you're going to compete in this new sector o~ the market you've got to be good. And sadly not all fall into that category.

The trouble with a convertible - any type of convertible - is that if you chop the root off a car you nun the risk ot turning a rigid structure
into something that has all the solidity of a jelly. Next time you buy a new pair of shoes, before you chuck the box away try a little experiment. With the lid in place, try twisting the box. Ditcult, eh? Now take the lid off and do the same thing. Easy! It's the same with a car. Take the lid off and you'll need to add half a dozen RSJs in the chassis if a's not going to wobble down the road.

Exaggerate, but only a little. Which is why Volkswagen is very keen to tell us that the new Eos is not a chopped Golf. Leaving that area of the market to the cheaper Beetle soft-top, Eos is, VW says, a model in its own right. It shares some hardware and looks with both the Golf and Passat, but essentially this was a new car designed from the ground up. This way, goes the theory, it is a far stiffer structure and therefore offers better handling, a belter ride and better refinement. You know what?

Volkswagen is telling the truth. Crop a wheel of the Eos into a pothole and only the mildest judder is felt through the steedng wheel. For a conventional hatchback it's impressive. For a convertible, the rigidity is impressive. The key to the car, obviously, is its roof. Eafly examples of the CC genre had a roof Comprising onfy three main sections which necessitated a large boot to house them all, and Which gave the car awkward overall proportions, Eos, on the other hand, has a roof made up of five smaller sections needing a smaller boot and giving the car better proportions.

In fact, while beauty is in the eye of the beholder, for what it's worth reckon that the Eos is the best-looking of the bunch by a long way, The Eos roof has another trick up its sleeve. Largely made of glass, it makes for a light and airy cabin even in the depths of winter. and best of all, the section above the front seats doubles as a sliding sun roof - perfect for extra fresh air on the move "olding the roof requires the car to be stationary). For this reason VW has taken to calling Eos a CSC, standing for coupe sunroof convertible. It's good to drive, too.

A range of GoN/Passat engines is available for the car, with four petrol versions and a diesel on offer, adl with a standard six speed manual transmission. Most popular is likely to be the 150hp FSl 2.0-litre petrol which ticks most of the boxes. OK, 9.8 seconds from 0-60mph isn't earth- scorching stuff, but if you want pertonnance buy a GT1. But if you want to Devout' the wind in your hair, the performance of the FSl is more than adequate. There are a couple of criticisms, of course. no car is perfect.

The folded roof inevitably steals a fjr amount of the available boot space, but what's worse is the curious box within the boot into which the luggage has to be 'posted' if it is not to interfere with the mechanism. While the boot will take a large suitcase and other luggage with the roof folded, it's best to load and unload it with the hardtop in place. And while Volkswagen might mean people's car, the Eos is far f rom cheap.

In time honoured German fashion the list price is only a starting point. The 2.0 FSl Sport is listed at £21,735 for example, but it's dead easy to bump that by a few thousand once you've specified Nappa leather £1,845), sat nav £1,450, and so on. Even the wind deflector (vital if you're going to do any serious mileage with the roof down), is a £230 extra when it really should be standard. still, I don't suppose that will put many people off. Whether fl was named after a goddess or a Star Wars factory, Eos is a car