@expressmotoring Join the Q to give it the beans

ROWAN ATKINSON used to own my favourite Mercedes-Benz of all time. It was a model called the 500E and was a normal E-Class saloon as loved by German taxi drivers, fitted with the 5.0-litreV8 engine from the 500SL sports car. It wasn’t badged as an AMG but was seriously special all the same. Not least because it was assembled by Porsche.

Atkinson used to write for a car magazine that I worked at in the early ’90s and bought one of these left-hand drive only cars. He discovered that if you pushed an unwound paperclip into a particular terminal in the car’s control unit you could disable the traction control system. Mr Bean goes drifting.

So what’s the relevance of Rowan’s Merc in this week’s road test? Because driving this Mercedes-AMG A35 saloon reminded me of the 500E as the new car, like the old-timer, is a real Q car.A wolf in sheep’s clothing in other words.

Underneath the A35 saloon is the same powertrain as the A35 hatchback that was launched early in 2019.That means a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine that produces 306bhp.

Also a seven-speed double-clutch automatic gearbox and four-wheel drive.

And here’s another reason why memories of the 500E entered my head: that car’s brawnyV8 engine produced only 325bhp.

It made a lovely noise, however, and seemed very powerful at the time.Amazing how much power modern cars have and how difficult it is to use it.

The 500E oozed character and felt really special. Unfortunately this £35,980 super saloon doesn’t. Sure it’s quick: its top speed is limited to 155mph and 0-62mph takes only 4.8secs. Interestingly, that’s a second faster than the 500E, explained partly by the fact that the 500E wasn’t four-wheel drive and therefore struggled for grip.The modern car is rather more economical, too, with a