VOLKSWAGEN has gone a bit the way of Midas. The mythical king, upon discovering that his touch could turn everything into gold, went hog wild and touched everything in sight.

Upon discovering that its 2-litre direct injection turbo mated with DSG gearbox is a winning combo, VW has applied it to almost everything in sight.

Well, as King Midas found out shortly after turning his offspring into an ingot, even blessings can be hit-and-miss affairs. VW's turbo-DSG formula, which works like a charm in the Golf GTI, Jetta and Audi TT, seems a little ill-suited to the new Eos.

First of all, the dramatic drivetrain is overshadowed by the convertible's showy foldable hard-top, which never fails to instil awe each time it tucks away or comes back up.

Like a Transformer autobot, the Eos switches between coupe and cabrio modes with absolute flourish. It may not be the quickest roof in town, but it is the only one that holds you in rapture when in motion.

The same can be said for the car's elegant body. For something that has to stow away a sizeable top, it has poise, balance and style.

But coming back to the drivetrain, the Eos could do with something more comely than a punchy GTI ensemble. For instance, a light-turbo motor regulated by either a manual or Audi's smooth continuously variable transmission.

As it is, the car is a rather jittery specimen, endowed with neither the agility of coupes nor the laidback disposition of cruiser cabriolets.

Instead, it comes across as being schizophrenic, with unintentional wheelspins and slight but unmistakeable steering wheel judder as regular items on the menu. At the same time, it displays little or none of the propensity for neat turn-ins which similarly endowed VWs have.

In short, there is a mismatch of expectations here. The car just does not deliver consistently on the promise many of us expect of a GTI recipe. And when it does, it seems incongruous, like a judoka in a tutu if you will.

Having said that, you can still have fun in the car. Heavy-footing it with the top down is a hoot, as the sound and fury of 200 horses battling the elements come to the fore. You hurtle past traffic in a flurry, delivered on a tornado with a throttle. It is quite literally in-your-face intensity.

As the first Golf-based convertible available with a GTI engine, the Eos could have been a lot worse. It could have been bland.

VOLKSWAGEN EOS 2.0T FSI
Price: $154,800 with COE
Engine: 1,984cc turbocharged 16-valve direct-injection inline-4
Transmission: Six-speed DSG
Power: 200bhp at 5,100rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,800-5,000rpm
0-100kmh: 7.8 seconds
Top speed: 232kmh
Fuel consumption: 11.4 litres/100km (city)
Agent: Volkswagen Centre Singapore