Mercedes-AMG A 35
The most accessible AMG on sale in India
With the new A-Class range, Mercedes-Benz doesn’t just intend to make its presence felt in the entry-level luxury space, but the entry-level performance segment as well. To that effect, the company has introduced the Mercedes-AMG A 35 4MATIC. The 35 here signifies that this is the slightly more docile member of the AMG family positioned bang in the middle of the regular A-Class and the full fat AMG A 45. The recipe is quite simple and one that I personally am a big fan of. A small easy to handle luxury sedan with a healthy dose of power and torque, a stiffer and consequently more performance-friendly setup and a tad more aggression to the way it looks inside out.
Dismissing it as just that, though, would be a huge disservice to the good folks at AMG and all the work that has gone into transforming a regular A-Class into one that can give purpose-built sports cars a run for their money. As the name suggests, the A 35 sports an allwheel-drive setup, one that can switch from front-wheel drive to 50:50 distribution between both axles. The result is better launches, more grip through corners allowing
for quicker corner exits and just better, more confidence-inspiring handling on the whole. Pushing the A 35 to the point at which understeer starts kicking in takes a fair amount of effort. Suspension components from the A 45 have filtered down to the A 35 as well and Merc has equipped it with adaptive damping as well that lets the driver switch between a comfort biased setup and a stiff, handling oriented setup. The setup is inherently stiffer than the regular A’s but despite its and the low profile rubber’s best efforts, the ride is far from bone-jarring. That said, sharper bumps will make their presence felt and care needs to be taken while tackling particularly large speed breakers and steep ramps because the A 35 does sit lower than the regular A. The chassis has been worked on as well with revisions to engine mounts, steering setup and a new rear subframe for added stiffness.
The Mercedes-AMG A 35 derives 306bhp and 400Nm from its turbo’ed 2.0-litre fourcylinder petrol motor which pairs with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. 0 to 100kmph is dismissed in 4.8 seconds making the A 35 the cheapest and quickest way to crack the ton in under 5 seconds. The engine and gearbox combo is super responsive, particularly in the most ‘extreme’ Sport+ mode with the added drama of slightly violent shifts. It can seem a bit jerky at lower speeds though, almost displeased with you not making full use of its potential. AMG
MERCEDES-AMG A 35 HAS 306BHP AND 400NM ON TAP AND CAN SCAMPER FOR 0 TO 100KMPH IN A VERY IMPRESSIVE 4.8 SECONDS
engineers have managed to get the steering feel and heft spot on as well and the result, all things combined, is a car that will plaster an ear to ear grin across your silly face every time you decide to partake in a spot of enthusiastic driving. Personally, my only grouse is that it doesn’t sound particularly menacing, but hey, this is just a 2.0litre turbo we’re dealing with. And AMG fanboys should note that this isn’t one of those hand-built, personally signed units.
Visually, the A 35 gets a healthy dose of aggression courtesy sharper bumpers, 18-inch alloy wheels, blacked-out diffuser with twin tailpipes and a smattering of AMG badges all around. It may not sound like much but when combined with the lower ride height and AMG-specific colours does help set it apart from the vanilla A-Class. Inside, again, it’s all largely similar to the regular A-Class save for the darker cabin treatment, different dashboard trims, sportier seats and best of all, red seatbelts. Both 10.25-inch screens get AMG-specific displays to remind you that this isn’t your average A-Class.
Local assembly has helped Mercedes price the AMG A 35 at Rs 56.25 lakh (ex-showroom) and at that price, there really isn’t anything else that combines performance, luxury and practicality quite the way the A 35 does. As far as exciting compact cars are concerned, the A 35 doesn’t have any direct rivals. It sort of occupies the void between the more affordable but not as quick Mini John Cooper Works hatch and Skoda Octavia RS on one end and the bigger, more expensive BMW M340i on the other.