Named for the Greek goddess of dawn, this stylish hardtop convertible proves worthy.

I admit it — I was jealous.

Beautiful, stylish, intelligent … my boyfriend was obviously smitten.

Then I reminded myself that, though attractive and sharp, the Volkswagen Eos is just a car. The integrated navigation system, speed-sensitive windshield wipers and unflappable DSG transmission did not make it smarter than me. The silvery-blue finish, shiny chrome touches and sleek hardtop convertible did not make it prettier than me.

Feminine pride barely intact, I took the Eos for a spin. The top came down, the Sirius satellite radio came on, and I think I only grazed the gas pedal to make it fly out of the parking lot like men out of church on Super Bowl Sunday.

It felt like I was just hovering above the pavement as I zipped through traffic. I found myself hugging turns, flooring it at traffic lights and revving the engine. I giggled a little as I passed people, and I turned up the stereo even louder.

In a car made for cruising — as the Eos so definitely is — making a statement is important. The test Eos came with an optional 600-watt sound system designed by Danish high-end manufacturer Dynaudio: For $1,000, you get a 10-channel amplifier and 10 speakers. My Eos also had a six-CD changer in the armrest, but I’d have preferred the iPod adapter: They’re mutually exclusive, and that’s fine.

Lesser models get an AM/FM radio with single-CD player and eight speakers, and then you can add the changer. But that’s neither here nor there. When a car is designed to make a statement, I’ll take the loudest one I can get.

And, because noise is important, the test Eos came with the top powertrain. Yes, you can get a turbocharged 2.0-liter four in the 2.0T model that pumps out 200 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque. High-tech direct fuel injection helps with performance and efficiency so that this setup is rated at 23 mpg city and an impressive 32 mpg on the highway.

That’s nothing to roll your eyes at, but I was racing around in the V-6 model, where a 3.2-liter cranks out 250 hp and 235 lb-ft of torque. That’s more like it: The six-cylinder rockets the Eos from 0 to 60 in 6.9 seconds, quick enough to hit that next stoplight before anyone else — you can look but can’t touch.

With the four, you can choose a six-speed manual, but I’d argue a sleek cruiser like this is better if you don’t have to fidget around shifting for yourself. The V-6 model comes standard with the amazing six-speed DSG dual-clutch transmission.

Yes, regular automatics let you shift for yourself in those rare times you care about optimum control or mid-corner power, but the DSG is a revelation that is still echoing throughout the car world: With two sequential clutches at your disposal, it can run all day in automatic mode, making you look good, or can immediately hook up the next gear like a racecar when you merely brush one of the paddles mounted on the back of the steering wheel. Transmission expectations haven’t been the same since VW launched this revolution. You need to try it.

If looks could kick

Anyway, back to cruising. The Eos is the best vision yet of Volkswagen’s latest styling direction. Where the old Jetta and Passat were sleek, unfussy and Germanic, I’d found recent VWs overstyled and needlessly extravagant — but that all makes sense in the Eos.

As I put more miles on the Eos, my jealousy melted away, turning into self-indulgence: Instead of driving me around, this beautiful car seemed designed to take me on ego trips. I didn’t engage in my driving ritual of tying up my hair, and I neglected my trusty SPF 60. The wind was my stylist, the sun my spotlight and the Eos a stage designed specifically to show off my best angles.

Everyone looked as I passed. I caught eyes in the rearview mirror. I fear one guy gave himself whiplash as he tried to track me in my mobile pedestal. Like a soundtrack, Elvis’ “Rubbernecking” played on a satellite station dedicated to The King. Fitting, because I felt like a queen: I was Giselle on the runway, Lance on the Tour, Bono on stage.

I shared the experience with some girlfriends at work. Four of us took the Eos to a work lunch, and we all entered the restaurant breathless, messy-haired and elated. Our team leader and other co-workers gave us raised eyebrows, so I explained:

“Cargasm.”

On our way back to work, one girlfriend concluded that the Eos is not a car but a fashion accessory. I looked down at my feet, sporting the impulse Aldo purchase I’d made within hours of my first ego (er, Eos) trip. Thinking about how new shoes or a new haircut make one walk with a bit more strut and toss hair with a bit more sass, it made sense.

The Eos, naturally, obliges: The side mirrors (power-folding and heated) include turn signals to keep you out of trouble, but the big trick is the environment lighting on their undersides that aims to prevent, as the VW press materials put it, “a misstep into a puddle — or worse!” The driver-side mirror is also self-dimming to help prevent temporary “blinding” from following automobiles. When you have this much attitude, who can blame them for following too closely?

Availing itself of another path to great lighting, the available “Coming Home” feature helps light your way to the door during nighttime arrivals, following you home before shutting down. How’s that for a runway?

Let the sun shine in

But forget those impulse shoes: If any accessory could strut and sass on its own, it would be the Eos’ retractable hardtop roof in action. Hold a switch on the center console to activate eight hydraulic cylinders with mechanical linkages. The roof rises, splits into sections and neatly stores itself beneath the rear deck.

In just 25 seconds, the hardtop is completely and automatically lowered. If the weather changes, another click of the switch raises the solid panels to create a protected, quiet interior that’s only otherwise found in fixed-top coupes.

The silent, mechanized ballet stopped kids and adults in their tracks. Everyone loved watching that top go up and down; I half expected someone to throw Mardi Gras beads. This is one slick top.

To raise the stakes in the hardtop games, a power tilt-and-slide glass sunroof is integrated into the folding roof — to let in as much light and fresh air as you’d like without putting the whole top down — something no other hardtop convertible can boast and a huge step forward. Because seasons change, the Eos is designed for all-weather cruising: In the closed position, the roof protects occupants from inclement weather and keeps the noise down, even at highway speeds. As an added bonus, the hardtop even makes life more difficult for vandals and thieves: Try taking my scrunchies now, jerks.

Not to keep me from enjoying other accessories, there is still a usable bit of trunk space under the stowed top: No hardtop convertible can really boast about this, but the Eos offers a respectable 10.5 cubic-feet of cargo space with the roof up and 6.6 cubic-feet — sadly, that’s Mazda Miata territory — with it down. For a bit more flexibility, there’s also a lockable, rear-seat pass-through designed to accept long or bulky items, such as skis.

Checking out the Eos from the front, you’ll first notice the big chrome one-piece grille into which the angry-looking headlights flow. This new “face” of Volkswagen rises along the short hood to the windshield, looking a bit like an economy car: With the top raised, the Eos looks to be either poised for speed or ready to trip over its nose, depending on your viewing angle and your mood that day.

That’s what happens when automakers whip up a hardtop convertible these days: To fit the big panels that make up the top, the trunk has to take precedence over the overall styling. No matter what, there has to be room to stow the top. And then there is the curious cutline of the trunklid, where it swoops down and tries to fit in with the Eos’ other dramatic style lines. Anyone who’s ever tried to fit into a delicious pair of heels knows that style can be worth trading some comfort.

Get your tech on

Driving the Eos is even stunning at night, when the leather interior is bathed in the red and blue lights of the dashboard display. I didn’t use half of the cool stuff in the car’s computer, but there were faces pressed against the windows of cars next to me, the drivers mesmerized by the impressive, lit-up options at my fingertips. The multifunction trip computer let me play with trip time, distance, average speed and average fuel consumption, plus instant fuel consumption, miles to empty and outside temperature. Good to know.

The interior borrows liberally from VW’s Rabbit hatchback, so materials are of the highest quality, and the overall styling is tidy. Unique to the Eos are chromed air vents and trim in three styles: genuine walnut, brushed aluminum and a metallic-look synthetic. The steering wheel, shifter and parking-brake handle are all wrapped in leather, and the convenient shifter paddles for the DSG on the steering wheel are part of an option package.

All features are right at hand but don’t get in the way of the Eos’ raison d’etre: cruising around, being seen. Twelve-way power seats in front allow for a just-right driving position, and easy-entry seats “remember” the positions of the front buckets and return there once rear passengers have entered or exited.

Space in the rear seat is pretty good for a convertible: The stretch-out space of a sedan or SUV is missing, but the girlfriends easily fit for that ride to lunch. This is a convertible after all, not some mommy-type peoplemover.

To keep the girls safe, there are side-curtain airbags that, working with the front airbags, unfold horizontally and vertically to cover the entire length of the side windows. Additional safety-enhancing features include ABS, ASR anti-slip regulation and stability control with brake assist and a system to sweep the brakes dry in the wet.

While the performance aspects of the Eos are impressive — power from the V-6 is immediate and pulls like a train, but the car is not as connected to the road as you’d like for how sporty it looks; but no matter, not every car is, or should try to act like, a supercar — I was most impressed by the Eos’ aesthetics and the effect they had on me and everyone else.

The Eos gave me a driving experience I’d never had: It was the beautiful accomplice to my satisfying crime of being a total showoff. For once, everyone had to be jealous but me.

Shannon Kelly has to commute in Atlanta but looks forward to another Santa Fe visit soon. E-mail her at drive@sfnewmexican.com.

2007 Volkswagen Eos 3.2L

• Base price: $37,480
• As tested: $40,930
• Type: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, four-passenger hardtop convertible
• Drivetrain: 3.2-liter V-6 producing 250 horsepower at 6,300 rpm and 235 pound-feet of torque at 2,500 rpm; six-speed dual-clutch auto
• EPA mileage: 22/29, premium unleaded recommended
• Length: 173.5 inches
• Weight: 3,686 pounds
  
• Built in: Portugal