Has anyone driven both the GLI and GTI? Do they feel any different?

And yes, I believe I was clear about understanding that the D&D was extra in a previous post.

The manual 2.0T is available with the Sport Package, which adds sports suspension, aluminum trim (instead of wood), and sport buckets to the above list.

The $2,000 includes the features I listed earlier, power driver seat, heated seats, auto climate, etc.

Trunklid “diversity antenna,” whatever that is
Automatic headlights with “coming home” feature (i.e. they stay on a bit)
Premium AM/FM with 6-disc in-dash, MP3 format readable, 8 speakers
Aux-in multimedia socket
Sirius Satellite w/three months trial service
3-spoke leather-wrapped multifunction wheel
rain-sensing auto wipers
self-dimming interior mirror
17-inch wheels (yes, wheels included)
burled walnut trim
12-way power front seats
leather
easy-rear-entry power buttons on front seats.

So for $2,000, you apparently get a lot of what you say isn’t included.

Items therefore not on this car:
Wheels of a decent size; you need to spend more for 17s or 18s
Leather; your car had vinyl (good vinyl no doubt, but many people insist on leather)
Wood or aluminum trim (matter of taste)
Power passenger seat (depends on how much you care about the SO)
Obstacle detection (why in a car of this size?)
Auto lights, auto-dimming mirror, Homelink, Dynaudio, sport suspension, Xenons, etc.

Key bits are the wheels and leather.

Any difference in handling from the 17s on the Lux Pkg car? Probably not.

One thing I hope you can help me with: any idea if the non-Lux car had audio controls on the steering wheel? The info I’ve found suggests these are part of the luxury package, but it’s unclear.

http://eur.news1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/xp/boms/20051205/11/1817870807.jpg

Any significant difference other than the wheels and ride height? If not, the right wheels and springs could make the car.

Real-world MSRP will rarely be $27,900. That’s the price for the base model, which is available with absolutely no options, not even the DSG. I suspect very, very few of these will be produced. It’s all about getting a low price for marketing purposes. Judging by your comment, it worked.

The $29,900 model adds power driver’s seat, heated front seats, dual zone auto climate control, trip computer, and a leather wheel for $2,000. The Luxury Package is an option on that car.

Fit the car with Sport Package, 18-inch wheels, and DSG, and MSRP jumps to $35,785. With Luxury Package, necessary to get leather, and DSG it lists for $35,185.

I created my site to enable people to quickly generate valid price comparisons. I don’t have data on the Volvo in there, but how about the Saab 9-3? Base to base, before incentives, the difference comes to $8,000.

Only 12,000 a year? Well, time will tell if entering the info on the Eos was worth the effort.

I had the base price wrong in an earlier post, by the way. the two I drove were Monroneyed at $29,990 base, but I didn’t realize that included a “luxury” trim and options package. Real MSRP is $27,990, which I believe–without looking it up–puts it more than $10,000 under the C70.

VW is only planning to sell 12,000 Eoses a year in the U. S., incidentally.

Entered pricing for the Eos into my database last night. Adjusted for features it comes in about $1,400 below the Pontiac.

http://www.truedelta.com/models/Eos.php

All close competitors except the Volvo are in there. If I knew the Volvo was selling over 1,500 units per month, I’d go ahead and enter it as well. Unfortunately, Automotive news posts sales figures for the “70 Series,” such that sales of the C70 and V70 are combined. Hopefully they’ll realize this makes no sense and change it.

I don’t understand all the tsuris about its weight. Admittedly it does raise the CG somewhat, but that’s what all the people fascinated by dumb, heavy, balky, ugly, trunk-eating, potentially maintenance-intensive folding metal tops get if they think it’s so cute to watch them do their Swiss Army knife act. (I prefer the look and simplicity of fabric, myself. I drive a Boxster year-round, in the Northeast, and don’t even garage it.)

The power-to-weight ratio of the Eos is hardly Miata- or Boxster-worthy, but it’s right in the ballpark of the competition: at 17.5 lb./hp it’s substantially better than the Audi A4 Cab (21.7), almost identical to the Volvo C70 (17.4), just a hair more than the V6 Mustang (17.2) and not too far away from the Mini S and Saab 9-3 convertibles (both 16.9).

Don’t just read these silly reviews–mine or anybody else’s. Go drive one. With heated front seats standard, crank up them and the blower and you’ll have a nine-month convertible even in Chicago.

Of those cars, I would say the only ones that will be seriously cross-shopped, on the basis of price, quality, space and performance, are the Saab, the Camry and maybe the Pontiac. And only the Pontiac has a steel top.

As far as I’m concerned, folding metal tops are less attractive than a good padded and lined fabric top, operate slowly, take up way more trunk room, potentially are more maintenance-intensive, are heavier and raise the CG, cost more to build, and require the high trunk and therefore beltline that many people on this site, at least, seem to find offensive.

Having said that, the Eos is a splendid car for what it is–a true four-seat convertible. Not a roadster, not a rat-racer, not a sports car, an excellent, comfortable, high-quality top-down cruiser for two and occasionally four adults. Its only competition price-wise is the Pontiac G6–can’t imagine many people cross-shopping the two, though–and I don’t know why people are complaining that the Eos is “so expensive.” I drove two, and one was just over $31K and the other one, quite well-equipped, about $34K. (Both had the DSG.) the car is extremely well-equipped without a single option–all of the major electronics, such as the stability platform, are standard.

I had no problem quite quickly getting it up to 110 or spinning the tires in first, if that’s your wont, so I think it has plenty of motor for its market.

Whether or not you like the way it looks is your own business, not that of a car reviewer, but I found that everywhere I went–and it was Pebble Beach weekend, so there were car guys eveywhere–it was universally liked. I didn’t get a single “Boy, that is one butt-ugly car” comment. Nobody even called it a rolling platypus…

TTAC writers’ remit: describe the soul of a new machine. Although there is some minimum information we like to include, our reviews are all about describing a car’s personality. All the practical stuff– fuel economy, price comparisons with the competition, suspension components– can be found on other sites.

Yes! That is the reason I keep coming back here. If I wanted specs and pricing information, I’d go look them up via google. No other source I have seen comes close to capturing the “soul” of a car. Thank you!

If you are considering a folding hardtop because of security or safety reasons, there is no free lunch. Both these cars look better wth the top down.

Trivia: The Honda Del Sol had a folding hardtop originally, but as far as I know, it was only sold in Japan.

Perceptions of automobiles are just that, individualistic reactions in that moment. My expectations for the Eos came from my appreciation for the novelty of the retractable hardtop as well as my extensive experience driving a GTI. I wanted the Eos to capture the innocent and inexpensive joy I get when driving the GTI coupled with a slick top. I was seriously thinking of purchasing an Eos and was eagerly anticipating the test drive.

Perhaps many of you weren’t expecting what I was and won’t be disappointed. I am going to do exactly what I recommended, wait for the six cylinder version and try again. I think that VW is making interesting cars again and want to reward their efforts, but the Eos 2.0 won’t get my business.