The open-topped motoring idyll can have a powerful effect. Every year it seduces thousands of us to spend vast sums of cash on cars without a roofs, this in a country with a climate that's wetter than a mackerel's mouthorgan. Show a convertible car to a British citizen and within seconds they'll have mentally transported themselves off to an automotive utopia where they're barrelling down rural lanes, the engine singing, the wind in their hair and the leaves left swirling in their wake. It's beautiful but it all kind of hinges on the car having a bit of grunt. Does the dream sequence still hang together convincingly when the glorious convertible is powered by a measly 1.4-litre petrol engine? With Volkswagen's Eos 1.4 TSI, there's a chance it might.

It's true, 1.4-litres doesn't sound like a lot of engine for your dream drop-top, especially when the car in question is the elegant but sturdy Volkswagen Eos which comes complete with a weighty folding metal roof. You'd be right not to expect too much from the 1.4 TSI under these testing circumstances but this is no ordinary engine. The powerplant arrived to replace the entry-level 1.6-litre FSI unit that the Eos was launched with but by using advanced turbocharging technology it offers more power and greater flexibility. Don't give up on the dream just yet.

The 1.4-litre TSI engine as found in the Eos is not to be confused with the 1.4-litre TSI Twincharge engine that debuted in the Volkswagen Golf in 2006. That unit uses a turbocharger and a supercharger to produce either 140 or 170bhp but this 1.4 TSI makes do with just the turbo and the result is 120bhp. That's still a decent amount to get from a 1,390cc engine but what's most impressive is the way the power is delivered. Turbocharged engines of yesteryear always tended to deliver a pregnant pause between the application of the throttle at low revs and the power arriving at the wheels. This turbo lag is successfully banished in the 1.4-litre TSI Eos which manages to make its maximum torque of 200Nm available from 1,500rpm all the way up to 4,000rpm. Prod the accelerator anywhere in this wide power band and you're rewarded with a fast, smooth flow of acceleration. 120bhp is never going to turn the Eos into a rocketship but it's acceptably rapid with a 0-60mph time of 10.9s and a 122mph top speed.

"There's little to touch the Eos in the affordable folding hard-top market"

The Eos manages to disguise its bulk on the road far more effectively than most folding hard-top convertibles. It's reasonably taut through the bends and shudders or vibrations that would betray a lack of rigidity caused by an absent roof and largely absent themselves. The suspension is tuned for comfort in the entry-level trim that the 1.4 TSI engine is available in so the ride is smooth rather than sporty but the Eos can still be hurried along and is a rewarding car to drive in a way that very few of its rivals can replicate. With the roof up, the Eos is extremely refined and you'd be hard pushed to tell that it had the capacity to convert itself such is the lack of wind noise and the hushed engine note.

The acid test of any car of this ilk is how it looks with the roof in place, as many have curiously distended posteriors. There is a slight chubbiness to the Eos' rear but it's definitely more Jennifer Lopez than Johnny Vegas. With the hood down, there's no debate. The Eos aces all of the opposition in the affordable folding hard-top class, the clean, wedgy hipline and restrained surfacing giving it a very mature yet elegant look. To this eye at least, it's the best looking Volkswagen since the Corrado. Coming on the heels of the slightly awkward Jetta and Passat models, this was a welcome return to form from a company that had hinted at a sharper design direction with cars like the Golf.

Although Volkswagen have used a number of generic parts beneath the surface, they've done a very canny job of giving the Eos its own identity. It must have been financially tempting to slap in a Golf fascia and have done with it. The Golf unit is attractive, functional and cost-effective to produce but instead, the Eos gets a different shape dashboard into which existing switches and dials are slotted. The door mouldings and rear seats are also unique to the Eos. As an option, buyers can select electrically activated easy-entry seats that memorise the driver and front passenger's seating positions and return the seats to this setting when the rear seat passengers have entered or exited the car. Another option is the rear latching system for the boot which closes the final few millimetres effortlessly. The boot itself is one of the more capacious for a car of this ilk, holding 205 litres with the roof cartridge in place and 380 litres when the car is in hard top mode.

Being the entry-level engine option, the 1.4TSI is only available with the entry-level trim. Prices start at £19,990 and for that you get a specification list that runs to 16" alloy wheels, an MP3 compatible CD stereo, air-conditioning, front fog lights, speed sensitive power steering and remote central locking. The safety equipment is particularly generous with ESP stability control and traction control fitted as standard along with front, curtain and side airbags, ABS with brake assist, whiplash optimised head restraints and pretensioner seatbelts.

At 4.41 metres long, the Eos is a bit longer than a Golf, at 1.79m a little wider and at 1.44m, a tad lower. Its footprint is closer to the Jetta than the hatchback Golf and Volkswagen rather disingenuously claim that it occupies a position between Golf and Passat, therefore opening a new market sector. Volkswagen was late to this particular party and proclaiming it had started a new one wasn't going to wash. The Beetle Cabriolet takes care of business at the lower end of the convertible sector but Volkswagen has higher plans for the Eos. That, rather than any notion of creating a new market sector, is what will separate the Eos from humbler fare such as the Renault Megane CC and the Peugeot 307CC. In short, it's a good deal pricier.

The 1.4-litre TSI engine is the one you go for in the Eos range if you're concerned about costs. Yes, the diesel has better fuel economy but it doesn't come cheap and the 1.4 TSI's combined cycle showing of over 42mpg isn't that far off the oil-burner's pace. The CO2 emissions of the two engines are virtually identical with the 1.4 TSI at 159g/km and the 2.0TDI just 1g/km better off.

The Eos feels like a quality product and appears to justify its price premium over the other more rickety protagonists in the folding hard-top convertible market. This bodes well for residual values as, of course, does the VW badge on its nose.

Convertibles are all about pleasure but ultimately we all have to live in the real world. There's no doubt that the glorious sunny days with the roof down work that much better with a creamy V6 providing the soundtrack but what about the rest of the time? When you're languishing in traffic on your rain-sodden commute or lining the chancellor's pockets by filling up with yet another tank of over-priced unleaded, you might catch yourself wishing you'd made a more prosaic engine choice. In the Volkswagen Eos, the 1.4 TSI could be that engine.

There's little to touch the Eos in the affordable folding hard-top market and the car's quality more than justifies the price premium it commands over rivals. If you wanted outright performance, you'd pass on this entry-level 1.4 TSI engine and upgrade to one of the larger petrol or diesel units but if you want to enjoy driving with the roof down while keeping the costs down, the 1.4 TSI is a good compromise. It's mildly fast, pleasantly smooth and surprisingly economical for a turbocharged petrol engine. Here's one entry-level engine that won't turn your drop-top dream into a nightmare.

TOP 1 EOS DEALS

The results below show the top EOS deals on buyacar

	Volkswagen EOS 1.4 TSI 2dr Cabriolet Convertible
	ETR	Mthly £331	Saving £1,638	Price £18,382

typical 10.06% APR

PCP finance quote over 48 months,  10,000 miles pa,  deposit of £1000