In its annual Editors’ Choice Awards, Autobytel selected the Volkswagen GTI and all-new Eos as the Best New Performance Car Under $40,000 and Best New Convertible Under $75,000, respectively. The Editors' Choice Awards names the best new 2007 vehicles on the market as decided by a team of veteran automotive editors.

Autobytel commended the 200-horsepower 2.0T four-cylinder engine shared by the GTI and Eos, especially when combined with the sports-tuned suspension and responsive steering offered by the GTI. The choice of transmission, wrap-around bucket seats, practical interior and four doors were additional GTI features praised by Autobytel. At $22,600, the GTI falls well under $40,000.

The GTI is fun to drive, with its high-tech, 200-horsepower 2.0T four-cylinder engine that produces 207 ft.-lbs. of torque, fully independent sports-tuned suspension, aggressive exterior styling, and a practical interior that equally mixes functionality, flair and a driver-first focus and layout. For the first time in the U.S., a four-door hatchback body style is available in addition to the traditional GTI coupe.

The 2007 GTI is a solid and aggressive sports model with an available automated manual DSG(tm) transmission that utilizes direct shifting which essentially automatically depresses clutch-shift points more efficiently and quicker than even a professional driver can. For those driving enthusiasts who want the unique control of a clutch, the GTI comes with a standard six-speed manual transmission. Top speed is electronically governed at 130 miles per hour in the U.S.

Earlier this month, Car and Driver selected the GTI as one of its 10Best cars for the fourth time, and Popular Mechanics named it the best in the “Driving Fun” category of its 2007 Automotive Excellence Awards.

Also at the Editors’ Choice Awards, Autobytel selected the all-new Eos as the Best New Convertible Under $75,000, recognizing the $27,990 car as the least expensive convertible on the market with a retractable hardtop. Like the GTI, Autobytel gave accolades to the Eos’ 200-horsepower turbocharged engine, plus its power and safety equipment, passable rear seat, and solid structure.

Named after the Greek goddess of dawn, Eos, the Volkswagen Eos is the world’s first four-seat, hardtop convertible with an integrated glass sunroof. The CSC™ (coupe-sunroof-convertible) is a revolutionary five-panel roof that transforms the coupe’s hardtop, with integrated sunroof and heated-glass rear window, into an open-air convertible. With the click of a switch, owners of the 2007 Eos enjoy the desirous attributes of a traditional “rag top” and the benefits of a protected and quiet interior environment of a hard-top. In an industry “first-and-only,” the panoramic, tinted glass power sunroof is integrated into the folding roof of the Volkswagen Eos. The externally-guided, tilt-and-slide sunroof with automatic pinch protection gets “sandwiched” between roof panels as the hardtop is lowered.

Available with the award-winning 2.0T four-cylinder or the innovative 3.2 L narrow-angle V6 engines, other notable features of the Volkswagen 2007 Eos include Climatic single-zone air conditioning as standard in the base Eos, with dual-zone Climatronic™ standard in the Eos 2.0T and 3.2 L models. Easy-entry rear seats that "remember" the driver's and front passenger's longitudinal seating positions, and return to these once the rear passengers have entered or exited the vehicle, are standard on the Eos 3.2 L and optional on the 2.0T models.

Last month, the Eos won the “2006 Best of What’s New” award from Popular Science in the automotive category.