Obviously with the top down headroom is unlimited, but even with it up the rear seat passengers will find it acceptable unless they are approaching six feet tall. Getting into the back seat is made much easier as the front seatbacks fold down and the seat moves up off the seat runner to provide easier access. Legroom in the back is tight unless the front occupants move their seats forward.
Because part of the folding roof structure has to reside within the side panels when lowered, there is less usable width available for the rear seats, so it's not possible to seat three people in the back seat. The rear seatback is also more vertical than in the Jetta or GTI, as a result of creating maximum space for storage of the folded roof, making it less comfortable. There's a lockable door in the center of the rear seats for holding long items placed through from the trunk.
Even with the roof in place the rear seats are a trifle claustrophobic, although not that much worse than in most small coupes. It's not a car for taking rear seat passengers any great distance, but for cruising around town or at the beach with the top down it's a charm.
Passenger safety is enhanced by an active protection system whereby a roll bar in the rear pops up within a quarter of a second when sensors sense a serious accident is about to occur. Coupled with an extremely stiff front windshield frame this helps protect passengers in a roll over.
The dashboard in the Eos is similar to that found in the Jetta and GTI. It's the same layout with some changes to the trim. That's a good thing because the interior of the Jetta is regarded as being one of the nicest in this price range. The reshaped air vents are trimmed out with thin surrounds in brushed aluminum that sets them off nicely.
Models with the Luxury Package are trimmed with a strip of wood trim stretching across the lower edge of the dashboard; another piece covers the area ahead of the gearshift in the center console. The Sport Package features nicely finished brushed aluminum trim in place of the wood.
Leather comes with both of the packages. Personally, we found the smart-looking cloth seats in the base models more pleasing.
We found the navigation system worked well when we drove the Eos in South Africa. Unfortunately it's not as easy to view as it should be when the roof is open, as the screen is not shielded from the light.
The speedometer and tachometer are located in two nice big round gauges in a compact instrument pod. Although they are easy to read neither is in the center of the instrument panel, which some drivers find disconcerting. Instead there is a LCD in the center providing readouts and warnings. On some models a digital speed reading can be displayed here. The analog coolant temperature and fuel gauges are also located between the speedometer and tachometer.
The trunk is a decent size with the top up, offering 13.4 cubic feet of storage space, which is on par with a small sedan. It has a retractable cover that has to be latched in place before the top can be lowered. With this in place the storage space shrinks by almost half to about 7 cubic feet, similar to that of a two-seat sports car. Considering it has an all-metal roof with a built in sunroof and glass rear window that's not too bad of a compromise. So when you go on long trips you'll probably have the top up.
