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Hi all,
We’ve had the car for a couple of weeks now, and we’re still – and I daresay will be for a long time - in awe. I’ll explain below. When I say “we” it’s mostly my opinion with some input from my wife who’s car it is. I drive a MY08 VW Passat TDI 125 DSG, pearl black, sunroof.
What is it?
MY09 VW Eos TDI manual, candy white, sports suspension with 18” Chicago wheels, black Vienna leather interior. It's now done only just under 700 kms.
What don’t we like?
Thought I’d start with the bad stuff – it’s a short section.
1) Lights. They’re OK but not mindblowing. I replaced the OEM globes in the Passat with Philips Xtreme Power and am considering similar action for the Eos, or possibly the BlueVision for low beam, and the Xtreme Power for high beam.
2) This is what I don’t get given that the car was (presumably) designed in Germany by German engineers: Whenever the car is wet it is a given that water will get on the seat when opening the doors, and into the boot when opening the boot lid. Surely there must be a better solution – having said that, my Passat misbehaves in exactly the same way.
3) Relative lack of storage space. Spoiled from the Passat, a little bit more effort should have gone into this. Sunglass storage, anyone? It’s a convertible!! I see (in the manual) that under-the-seat storage drawers seem to be available but apparently not in this (Australian) market.
4) Visibility towards the back. Very hard to see out the back when reversing into a spot due to the bulky and high boot combined with the fat C pillars. The Optical Parking System helps but is obviously no substitute for good visibility. However, I understand that this is probably a general issue with this sort of car.
OK, that’s just about it.
What do we like?
Where to start?
1) Build quality. It’s rock-solid, no creaking, even with the roof down there’s hardly any indication of scuttle shake, doors close with a nice thunk, boot lid as well (and of course I love the added bonus of the electric motor pulling it shut!). Nothing to fault – yet ;-)!
2) Ride. Wow. Blows me away, to be honest. It’s firm as it should be with the sports suspension and the 18” wheels but at the same time very compliant and quite smooth. So far the wheels are firmly planted over any surface with minimum body roll, and a hefty chunk of “road adhesion”. Just to clarify, Continental Conti Contact Sport 2 (if that’s the correct designation) are on the car. Very impressed.
3) Engine. Having had my first “owner” diesel experience with the Passat (125 kW PD engine) which I occasionally call Tractor this is another area of complete amazement. Yes, there’s the occasional moment when you can definitely tell it is a diesel but generally the 103 CR is incredibly well-behaved. Sometimes it even seems to “purr”. It provides a very assertive shove when asked to deliver (Passat is much more “brutal” and peaky) and doesn’t mind being revved (OK, that’s a relative term). Fantastic. Fuel economy, too early to say but I’d expect low to mid 6 easy (Passat is sitting on 6.9 lifetime which is 33,000 km).
4) Gearbox. Nice. Always had manuals until the DSG in the Passat (and I have to say I love it except for the jerkiness in stop-start situations), and it was definitely a good decision to go with the manual in this case. Easy, well-defined shifts, clutch action is good, too.
5) Interior. Never thought I’d say this but I actually like the leather seats. I sweat easily and always had the picture (and actual experience) of me sticking to the seat with a soaking wet top (sorry, not the nicest picture) but these are really nice so far. Mind you, with winter just around the corner this may not rear its head until later this year … . While they’re not really “sports” seats they provide good lateral lateral support.
Interior surfaces are really nice to the touch, particularly the dash which is almost squishy. Appears that we also scored the sports pedals without specifying them (unless they’re part of the sports suspension package).
Space is pretty good for this class of car. Our kids can now sit in great comfort where they were squashed in the predecessor, a Mitsubishi Colt Turbo Convertible.
6) Sound system. We have the RCD510 (I think). Love the SD card option. Didn’t bother to get the iPod adapter (which I have in the Passat) since there’s an AUX IN which works perfectly fine. Sound is pretty good for a standard system – being a bassist myself I listen to a wide variety of styles, and I can’t really fault the sound.
7) All these little things. Passenger door mirror swivels down when reversing. “Puddle lights” – looks like the car’s about to take off. Coming/leaving home function – sure, pretty common these days but still nice. Heated seats a must during the cooler days. LED tail lights and indicators – shame I can’t drive behind me more often ;-)! Optical Parking System is nice but was expecting the front to be included as well.
8) The overall appearance – sure, beauty is in the eye of the beholder but this combination (white, slightly lower, 18” Chicagos) looks stunning, very planted with just the right amount of “aggression”. Some of the modded ones displayed elsewhere are certainly stunning too, but our combination – in my opinion – hits some sort of a sweet spot. Now to take and upload some pics … .
That’s about it, I think. Wait, there was one little thing I almost forgot:
9) The CSC roof. Yes, the Colt is a hard top convertible, and my Passat has a sunroof but nothing compares to this technical marvel. The panoramic sunroof is something to behold, provides a very light and airy feeling to the cabin to the point where you feel it’s a lot larger than it actually is. The option of tilting it open is fantastic, not so sure about the sliding, it seems to get quite noisy. The mechanical side of the roof operation is absolutely unbelievable. Very smooth operation (one can only hope that nothing goes wrong in this carefully orchestrated ballet) and more than acceptably quick. Marvellous.
While we had to wait for a while (ordered 30 December 2008, delivered 06 May 2009) I am very happy with how things were handled from the dealer’s end and the ultimate purchasing cost. We scored a free set of the custom suitcases as well.
As you can see, very happy after two weeks. We have yet to experience heavy rain to check the quality of the seals but fingers crossed. Rattles etc. may manifest themselves later in the car’s life but at this stage I’m very impressed and most hopeful that we’re in for a long and happy relationship.
Slightly off topic. Looks like quite a few people got their Eos early May. Great in the north, relatively bad timing for Melbourne even though we currently have an extended dry spell with mild temps and sun.
Sorry about this rather lengthy post - there may be a few pointers for prospective buyers and/or new users.
Happy driving!
Michael
We’ve had the car for a couple of weeks now, and we’re still – and I daresay will be for a long time - in awe. I’ll explain below. When I say “we” it’s mostly my opinion with some input from my wife who’s car it is. I drive a MY08 VW Passat TDI 125 DSG, pearl black, sunroof.
What is it?
MY09 VW Eos TDI manual, candy white, sports suspension with 18” Chicago wheels, black Vienna leather interior. It's now done only just under 700 kms.
What don’t we like?
Thought I’d start with the bad stuff – it’s a short section.
1) Lights. They’re OK but not mindblowing. I replaced the OEM globes in the Passat with Philips Xtreme Power and am considering similar action for the Eos, or possibly the BlueVision for low beam, and the Xtreme Power for high beam.
2) This is what I don’t get given that the car was (presumably) designed in Germany by German engineers: Whenever the car is wet it is a given that water will get on the seat when opening the doors, and into the boot when opening the boot lid. Surely there must be a better solution – having said that, my Passat misbehaves in exactly the same way.
3) Relative lack of storage space. Spoiled from the Passat, a little bit more effort should have gone into this. Sunglass storage, anyone? It’s a convertible!! I see (in the manual) that under-the-seat storage drawers seem to be available but apparently not in this (Australian) market.
4) Visibility towards the back. Very hard to see out the back when reversing into a spot due to the bulky and high boot combined with the fat C pillars. The Optical Parking System helps but is obviously no substitute for good visibility. However, I understand that this is probably a general issue with this sort of car.
OK, that’s just about it.
What do we like?
Where to start?
1) Build quality. It’s rock-solid, no creaking, even with the roof down there’s hardly any indication of scuttle shake, doors close with a nice thunk, boot lid as well (and of course I love the added bonus of the electric motor pulling it shut!). Nothing to fault – yet ;-)!
2) Ride. Wow. Blows me away, to be honest. It’s firm as it should be with the sports suspension and the 18” wheels but at the same time very compliant and quite smooth. So far the wheels are firmly planted over any surface with minimum body roll, and a hefty chunk of “road adhesion”. Just to clarify, Continental Conti Contact Sport 2 (if that’s the correct designation) are on the car. Very impressed.
3) Engine. Having had my first “owner” diesel experience with the Passat (125 kW PD engine) which I occasionally call Tractor this is another area of complete amazement. Yes, there’s the occasional moment when you can definitely tell it is a diesel but generally the 103 CR is incredibly well-behaved. Sometimes it even seems to “purr”. It provides a very assertive shove when asked to deliver (Passat is much more “brutal” and peaky) and doesn’t mind being revved (OK, that’s a relative term). Fantastic. Fuel economy, too early to say but I’d expect low to mid 6 easy (Passat is sitting on 6.9 lifetime which is 33,000 km).
4) Gearbox. Nice. Always had manuals until the DSG in the Passat (and I have to say I love it except for the jerkiness in stop-start situations), and it was definitely a good decision to go with the manual in this case. Easy, well-defined shifts, clutch action is good, too.
5) Interior. Never thought I’d say this but I actually like the leather seats. I sweat easily and always had the picture (and actual experience) of me sticking to the seat with a soaking wet top (sorry, not the nicest picture) but these are really nice so far. Mind you, with winter just around the corner this may not rear its head until later this year … . While they’re not really “sports” seats they provide good lateral lateral support.
Interior surfaces are really nice to the touch, particularly the dash which is almost squishy. Appears that we also scored the sports pedals without specifying them (unless they’re part of the sports suspension package).
Space is pretty good for this class of car. Our kids can now sit in great comfort where they were squashed in the predecessor, a Mitsubishi Colt Turbo Convertible.
6) Sound system. We have the RCD510 (I think). Love the SD card option. Didn’t bother to get the iPod adapter (which I have in the Passat) since there’s an AUX IN which works perfectly fine. Sound is pretty good for a standard system – being a bassist myself I listen to a wide variety of styles, and I can’t really fault the sound.
7) All these little things. Passenger door mirror swivels down when reversing. “Puddle lights” – looks like the car’s about to take off. Coming/leaving home function – sure, pretty common these days but still nice. Heated seats a must during the cooler days. LED tail lights and indicators – shame I can’t drive behind me more often ;-)! Optical Parking System is nice but was expecting the front to be included as well.
8) The overall appearance – sure, beauty is in the eye of the beholder but this combination (white, slightly lower, 18” Chicagos) looks stunning, very planted with just the right amount of “aggression”. Some of the modded ones displayed elsewhere are certainly stunning too, but our combination – in my opinion – hits some sort of a sweet spot. Now to take and upload some pics … .
That’s about it, I think. Wait, there was one little thing I almost forgot:
9) The CSC roof. Yes, the Colt is a hard top convertible, and my Passat has a sunroof but nothing compares to this technical marvel. The panoramic sunroof is something to behold, provides a very light and airy feeling to the cabin to the point where you feel it’s a lot larger than it actually is. The option of tilting it open is fantastic, not so sure about the sliding, it seems to get quite noisy. The mechanical side of the roof operation is absolutely unbelievable. Very smooth operation (one can only hope that nothing goes wrong in this carefully orchestrated ballet) and more than acceptably quick. Marvellous.
While we had to wait for a while (ordered 30 December 2008, delivered 06 May 2009) I am very happy with how things were handled from the dealer’s end and the ultimate purchasing cost. We scored a free set of the custom suitcases as well.
As you can see, very happy after two weeks. We have yet to experience heavy rain to check the quality of the seals but fingers crossed. Rattles etc. may manifest themselves later in the car’s life but at this stage I’m very impressed and most hopeful that we’re in for a long and happy relationship.
Slightly off topic. Looks like quite a few people got their Eos early May. Great in the north, relatively bad timing for Melbourne even though we currently have an extended dry spell with mild temps and sun.
Sorry about this rather lengthy post - there may be a few pointers for prospective buyers and/or new users.
Happy driving!
Michael
