I’m sure that you’re familiar with car sale ads that invite you to test their vehicle as it was the 2007 Volkswagen EOS that drew my attention, particularly the hardtop convertible feature.

EOS is the Greek goddess of the dawn who is said to have given birth to the wind and the stars. It certainly does. The Eos’ smooth wedged-shaped exterior features huge cat-eye shaped headlights and a cut rear end. Exterior details include sporty multi-spoke alloy wheels and a big chrome grille.

The interior is large enough to comfortably seat four adults depending upon their size. Okay, the truth is that I tested out the EOS while I was in Miami Beach driving four thin athletes, and we had the top down. This retractable hardtop roof- which seems to employ about 400 separate moving parts- takes about 30 seconds to convert, and it’s a hoot to watch.

The process begins with the windows rolling down, as the sun roof cover moves back. The roof then lifts. If you just want the roof to be in this position, you can stop it and it will expose the front seat passengers to the outside world, something that may not be offered with other hardtop convertibles. Continuing the process, the roof moves back and the rear of the top folds into the trunk of the car. Keep in mind that with the hardtop retracting, the Eos’ modest trunk shrinks from 13-cubic feet to about seven cubic-feet, which doesn’t leave much room for luggage.

Back to the Eos’ interior of high-quality plastics, plush leather and extremely comfortable bucket seats. The one I drove had a CD player and much used navigation system. Although the EOS is not huge, being equipped with backup noises truly comes in handy. I say noises because you hear one that alerts people that your car is backing up and another which lets you know that you may be about to hit another vehicle. I didn’t notice if the beeping noise is triggered when you are about to back up and hit a person...

Due to the remote keyless locking, the key pad has a door "lock", door "unlock", and "unlock the trunk" touch along with a key that pops up when you push a button. The behind-the-wheel experience felt like I was floating along the highway.

Technically speaking: 3.2L V6 torque engine; front wheel drive; electro-mechanical power steering; independent front strut suspension; multilink independent rear suspension; anti-lock braking system; driver and front passenger front airbag supplemental restraint system; combined curtain and side air bag system for front seats; automatic headlights with coming home feature (certainly needed that after the very long football game); roof operation indicator; and other goodies.

I found the EOS to be exhilarating entering what seemed liked its cockpit and experiencing a rather sporty drive. Easy lane changing and the navigation system’s map large enough to view while driving. Even better was being able to hear someone tell me when I needed to make a turn or exit the highway. If you’re looking for even more technical stuff such as the warranty, go to www.vw.com

- Merle Exit