Supercars, Hypercars, SUVs, Pickup trucks, super saloons we have discussed it all on Motordrift. But one of our subscribers emailed me and his wish was that I put out more affordable performance car content, especially hot hatchbacks. SO, here we are today with a new car in the spotlight which comes from Deutschland and it’s one of the best hot hatches in the market that can give hot hatches like the golf r a run for its money. Let me give you a hint, it’s a Mercedes product. Also, it’s not the top of the line hot hatch Mercedes offers, so A45 is out. Enough with the guesses, the car in the spotlight today is the Mercedes AMG A35. This is one of the most desirable hot hatchbacks in the market, the reason being the affordability and the performance it delivers for its price, and Mercedes has achieved some pretty impressive feats with this car which we are going to discuss today. Let’s dive into the review!!!
Design:-
It’s unmistakably Mercedes, from every angle of this car. If you show a glimpse of this car to a True car enthusiast, trust me that person won’t find it difficult to recognize the car as a Mercedes product. Aggression is one of the key factors when designing a Hot Hatch, you don’t want your hot hatch to look “Cute”, you want it to look menacing, like something straight out of hell. From the front you can notice the crazy aero stuff going on, the front splitter, the huge vent in the grill speak Performance. The car sits low to the ground and this accentuates the profile of the car quite a lot. Then the lines smoothen out and it follows the trajectory of a normal car. Just when the car is about to end, you notice the spoiler on the top of the car, which again speaks PERFORMANCE!!! And then is the rear of the car which is my favorite because of the aggression going on. The red taillights, with those white led strips, blend in perfectly. Moving down, you might also notice the twin Exhaust layouts which when combined with the diffuser enhances the performance factor of the car. Overall, Mercedes has nailed the design of this car and I have no issues with it. Let’s have a look at the engine and performance of the A35.
Engine & Performance:-
The A35 screams performance through its design, but does it pack any in real life? Housing a Relatively small but powerful 2 liter 4 cylinder turbocharged engine with 306 Horsepower and 400 Nm of torque, the A35 surely packs a strong punch. A 0 to 60 time of 4.6 seconds might seem slow to you because of the cars which we have discussed in the past that are a lot faster than this. But in the real world, it’s fairly quick and when you notice that the A35 weighs in at 1576 Kgs, you appreciate the performance the car has. The A35 will go on to do a top speed of over 250 Kmph and that’s a similar top speed to that of a Tesla. The Front-mounted location of the engine ensures that the car handles well and combined with the All-wheel drive drivetrain the A35 makes up for a serious handler. Struggling with traction is a thing that the A35 doesn’t know off, even in wet weather. But what if you are interested in doing some drag races?? Intriguing no? The A35 AMG has recorded a claimed lap time of 14.2 seconds which makes it no slouch. The Turbocharged engine starts providing all the 400 Nm of torque from as low as 3000 Rpm which is the reason behind the fast acceleration of the A35. And the 4Matic transmission ensures that the shifting in the car is butter smooth. Since the car is an AMG product and is one of the most affordable ways to get into the AMG line-ups, the brakes are not your standard ones, and they are multi caliper brakes, and trust me they won’t let you down. Even on hot summer days, they won’t heat up to compromise on braking and brake fading is a word that doesn’t exist in Mercedes Dictionary. Let’s have a look at the interior.
Interior:-
Germans never disappoint with their exhausts and their interiors. The interior is an area, where the Italians have to learn a lot from the folks in Germany. The Tri AC Vents in the middle of the dashboard might remind of other AMG Models and do look cool. The design of these vents has always stood out for me, they look like they have been inspired by a jet engine or something like that. Also, you would notice the huge screen that has been smoothly integrated into the dashboard. There was a time when Mercedes started placing these screens in their cars and they looked like an afterthought, good job Mercedes, you have learned a lot. The presence of Ambient lighting in the car just makes out the interior come alive, especially if it is in blue. The Steering, though being quite gimmicky has a heavy feel to it, which is quite surprising even though it’s electronically assisted. The Centre console has some practical elements to it. Overall, the interior has been well laid out and it certainly doesn’t feel cramped for a performance car. Legroom and Headroom are not an issue. The seating position combined with the awesome visibility all around the car makes the A35 even more desirable.
Conclusion:-
The AMG A35 costs about 50 Grand US Dollars, which without a doubt is a lot of money. Sure, you can get a civic type r for much less than that, but this German Performance machine is only for the ones who can recognize the potential this car packs. There is no comparison between the A35 and the Type R. The type is a car for affordable performance and the A35 is the one for people who want the same performance in a more elegant way.
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Ciao
