There'll probably come a day when those of us who aren't old enough to believe that the Beatles were a talented bunch of musicians will have to take out health insurance. Simply because there won't be much of a national health service left.
The system will be simple: Pay an inflated sum to an insurance company, and you won't die in a hurry. Or if you do, at least you'll be able to watch cable TV and have a nurse rub our back while you're doing it. Don't pay an inflated sum, and your life will be a little less poor but nasty, brutish and short - no more than a reflection of the physical and mental characteristics of most traffic wardens, though without the added attributes of being fat and intellectually challenged.
True, it's a cheap shot to have a dig at traffic wardens. But it's not that wise either to stand behind a bush at one end of a road more straight than something very straight that mystifyingly has a continuous white line in the middle, waiting for a motorist to overtake a billowing cement mixer doing five miles an hour.
And insurance doesn't cover you for tickets. Actually, to get back to the subject of medical insurance, I am beginning to wonder if it covers you for anything at all. I was lulled into a false sense of security by a medical insurance company and even thought they were going to cover my bills for a pretty straightforward procedure - until I received a large chunk of the unpaid bill from the private hospital.
It turned out the insurance company decided that I had a pre-existing condition - they obviously knew more than I did - and, according to them, I should have had enough knowledge of how much doctors charge to realise the figures they'd sent me would barely cover half the bill. I tried reason, and that failed. I tried being insulting and accusing them of being con-artists. That failed too. So I paid the bill, promised to hate insurers forever more, and was thankful that I was not a 70-year-old pensioner who had to rely on them to ensure I did not suffer a heart attack.
One day, of course, I well may be - though not if my current lifestyle is anything to go by - and will discover what it's like to be without any cover when it really matters. Which is exactly how I felt driving the new VW Eos along the coast road, since it was a blissfully sunny day with stiff breeze. The cover was missing when it really mattered, though this time I had induced it with the merest touch of a brushed-chrome button-cum-lever on the central console of the car.
The Eos has quite a stunning mechanical roof, which magically appears or disappears in a matter of seconds. And even when it's up there's a huge glass sunroof, so you can really choose whether to have the wind in your hair or not - that is, if you have any hair, and given the profile of a lot of convertible drivers, you probably don't. But having a snazzy roof is not unusual for a convertible these days. Utter peace and quiet inside the car, however, is. The only rattles you'll hear in this car when the roof's up will be ones your baby son and daughter are shaking themselves. Even the engine is silent enough to convince you it's asleep.
The Eos comes with an impressive range of engines, but I fear that 1.6 which was under the bonnet of my test car isn't one of them. There's nothing wrong with the thing itself, but I would have liked more grunt to go with this car to get the best out of it. And if I had to buy one, I would go for a bigger engine. Handling is assured, especially round swooping bends, rather than thrilling, and you always feel in complete control of this car.
Which will please a family, since they will all be able to fit into it too. Rear legroom is generous and the driver's seat will comfortably accommodate the tallest or shortest of motorists, offering a commanding position. The dash is simple and stylish as well as being as solid as the rock that keep this little island afloat. I have sat in cars that are much more expensive than this that don't compete on these terms. Its build quality is quite simply superb, from the chunky front console to the meaty leather steering wheel. Even the boot weighs a tonne, and space inside can be ample if you need to carry stuff around and don't mind not putting the roof down.
Visibility is not that bad for a convertible when the roof is up, and parking sensors are there to alert you of any unwanted objects behind. Since the roof protrudes from the back end in the process of metamorphosis, this can be particularly useful, especially if you want to injure someone you don't like. The only downside is that you can only perform this operation when the car is travelling at less than four km/h. This could mean you're without cover if it suddenly decides to rain. But if you've played the medical insurance game before, that will be the least of your worries. Unless you skid on the greasy road and hurt yourself, that is.
The bare facts
Model: 1.6
Engine types: 2.0, 3.2V6 petrol, 2.0 diesel
Power: 113bhp at 6,000 rpm
Torque: 114lb ft at 4,000 rpm
C02 rating: 181 (g/km)
Transmission: Six-speed manual/automatic
Fuel: 36.7 mpg (combined cycle)
Acceleration 0-60mph: 11.9 seconds
Price: From Lm17,400
For: Superb build quality
Against: Not cheap
Rating: 4 stars
The system will be simple: Pay an inflated sum to an insurance company, and you won't die in a hurry. Or if you do, at least you'll be able to watch cable TV and have a nurse rub our back while you're doing it. Don't pay an inflated sum, and your life will be a little less poor but nasty, brutish and short - no more than a reflection of the physical and mental characteristics of most traffic wardens, though without the added attributes of being fat and intellectually challenged.
True, it's a cheap shot to have a dig at traffic wardens. But it's not that wise either to stand behind a bush at one end of a road more straight than something very straight that mystifyingly has a continuous white line in the middle, waiting for a motorist to overtake a billowing cement mixer doing five miles an hour.
And insurance doesn't cover you for tickets. Actually, to get back to the subject of medical insurance, I am beginning to wonder if it covers you for anything at all. I was lulled into a false sense of security by a medical insurance company and even thought they were going to cover my bills for a pretty straightforward procedure - until I received a large chunk of the unpaid bill from the private hospital.
It turned out the insurance company decided that I had a pre-existing condition - they obviously knew more than I did - and, according to them, I should have had enough knowledge of how much doctors charge to realise the figures they'd sent me would barely cover half the bill. I tried reason, and that failed. I tried being insulting and accusing them of being con-artists. That failed too. So I paid the bill, promised to hate insurers forever more, and was thankful that I was not a 70-year-old pensioner who had to rely on them to ensure I did not suffer a heart attack.
One day, of course, I well may be - though not if my current lifestyle is anything to go by - and will discover what it's like to be without any cover when it really matters. Which is exactly how I felt driving the new VW Eos along the coast road, since it was a blissfully sunny day with stiff breeze. The cover was missing when it really mattered, though this time I had induced it with the merest touch of a brushed-chrome button-cum-lever on the central console of the car.
The Eos has quite a stunning mechanical roof, which magically appears or disappears in a matter of seconds. And even when it's up there's a huge glass sunroof, so you can really choose whether to have the wind in your hair or not - that is, if you have any hair, and given the profile of a lot of convertible drivers, you probably don't. But having a snazzy roof is not unusual for a convertible these days. Utter peace and quiet inside the car, however, is. The only rattles you'll hear in this car when the roof's up will be ones your baby son and daughter are shaking themselves. Even the engine is silent enough to convince you it's asleep.
The Eos comes with an impressive range of engines, but I fear that 1.6 which was under the bonnet of my test car isn't one of them. There's nothing wrong with the thing itself, but I would have liked more grunt to go with this car to get the best out of it. And if I had to buy one, I would go for a bigger engine. Handling is assured, especially round swooping bends, rather than thrilling, and you always feel in complete control of this car.
Which will please a family, since they will all be able to fit into it too. Rear legroom is generous and the driver's seat will comfortably accommodate the tallest or shortest of motorists, offering a commanding position. The dash is simple and stylish as well as being as solid as the rock that keep this little island afloat. I have sat in cars that are much more expensive than this that don't compete on these terms. Its build quality is quite simply superb, from the chunky front console to the meaty leather steering wheel. Even the boot weighs a tonne, and space inside can be ample if you need to carry stuff around and don't mind not putting the roof down.
Visibility is not that bad for a convertible when the roof is up, and parking sensors are there to alert you of any unwanted objects behind. Since the roof protrudes from the back end in the process of metamorphosis, this can be particularly useful, especially if you want to injure someone you don't like. The only downside is that you can only perform this operation when the car is travelling at less than four km/h. This could mean you're without cover if it suddenly decides to rain. But if you've played the medical insurance game before, that will be the least of your worries. Unless you skid on the greasy road and hurt yourself, that is.
The bare facts
Model: 1.6
Engine types: 2.0, 3.2V6 petrol, 2.0 diesel
Power: 113bhp at 6,000 rpm
Torque: 114lb ft at 4,000 rpm
C02 rating: 181 (g/km)
Transmission: Six-speed manual/automatic
Fuel: 36.7 mpg (combined cycle)
Acceleration 0-60mph: 11.9 seconds
Price: From Lm17,400
For: Superb build quality
Against: Not cheap
Rating: 4 stars