RE: Mercedes-AMG A35 unveiled with 306hp

[wst]

Alex_225 said:

We're very spoiled by the hot hatches like the A45 and RS3 whereby they offer 0-60 times that rival super cars of 10 (or less) years ago but for a hatch back, they're not cheap. One thing hot hatches always offered was affordability so maybe for performance, price and usability the A35 is more 'hot hatch' in the old school sense?

I figure the A45 is what gets people into the showroom, they balk at the price, the salesman says "have you seen this?", they drive the A35 and it does pretty much the same job (looks rude, parps and farts, gets you in trouble quickly), and they buy that one instead.

(I said buy. I mean finance/cash/whatever. Not the debate I want to start, the meaning is conveyed.)

[Alex_225]

wst said:

Alex_225 said:

We're very spoiled by the hot hatches like the A45 and RS3 whereby they offer 0-60 times that rival super cars of 10 (or less) years ago but for a hatch back, they're not cheap. One thing hot hatches always offered was affordability so maybe for performance, price and usability the A35 is more 'hot hatch' in the old school sense?

I figure the A45 is what gets people into the showroom, they balk at the price, the salesman says "have you seen this?", they drive the A35 and it does pretty much the same job (looks rude, parps and farts, gets you in trouble quickly), and they buy that one instead.

(I said buy. I mean finance/cash/whatever. Not the debate I want to start, the meaning is conveyed.)

To be fair a lot of these less powerful AMG models, despite people maybe arguing the badge, do 90% of what the high end model does.

300bhp and under 5 seconds to 60 is quick by most normal standards to be honest.

Oh and I know the other debate and yes I agree. A35 is X amount a month less than the A45 and does almost the same thing, it'll be very popular I suspect.

[rtz62]

P'raps its just me, but the interior shot looks like the LSD-induced delirious dream of the set designer for @Buck Rogers In The 25th Century'
If i was polite i'd say it's...not nice.
Not sure that I would ever want to own something like this, boot space would make it a non-starter for myself and most families, so perhaps my comments aren't valid.

[big_peaches]

Gameface said:

Sam993 said:

Gameface said:

Sam993 said:

This over M140i?

Definitely.

Proper RWD and smooth as silk straight 6 vs an ordinary 4 banger with some tablets attached to the dashboard? I don't think so.

Ooh you're such a purist. You must be right in that case. You're one of those driving gods I've heard about aren't you?

RWD. 6 cylinders. Tablet. Got a hat-trick there. So predictable.

So early in the thread too. Deeply impressive.

Having owned a m140i and sold it because of how poorly put together it was id try one of these tbh..... the m140i gearbox didn't suit the engine, for every day driving - with no TCU maps available for me was off putting. the fact the m140 is so accessible to young folk who have never experienced a smooth drive chain or many cars , they know no different and think jerky shifting is "character"...the manual was just as poor as clutch control was terrible due to anti clutch dump in the clutch line which I know can be cheaply rectified ( ive done this mod to a friends m140 ) still not what you expect to do to a "perfect" car ....

[J4CKO]

big_peaches said:

Gameface said:

Sam993 said:

Gameface said:

Sam993 said:

This over M140i?

Definitely.

Proper RWD and smooth as silk straight 6 vs an ordinary 4 banger with some tablets attached to the dashboard? I don't think so.

Ooh you're such a purist. You must be right in that case. You're one of those driving gods I've heard about aren't you?

RWD. 6 cylinders. Tablet. Got a hat-trick there. So predictable.

So early in the thread too. Deeply impressive.

Having owned a m140i and sold it because of how poorly put together it was id try one of these tbh..... the m140i gearbox didn't suit the engine, for every day driving - with no TCU maps available for me was off putting. the fact the m140 is so accessible to young folk who have never experienced a smooth drive chain or many cars , they know no different and think jerky shifting is "character"...the manual was just as poor as clutch control was terrible due to anti clutch dump in the clutch line which I know can be cheaply rectified ( ive done this mod to a friends m140 ) still not what you expect to do to a "perfect" car ....

Poorly put together ? I would say they are on par with most modern stuff, mine doesnt squeak or rattle, nothing falls off, its a hatchback, not a Bentley ?

The engine and gearbox suit each other pretty well I thought, I cant say mine is jerky, no worse than the auto Mercedes I had, can stick it in S ont he box and it makes it a bit jerkier but overall the box is fantastic, its just not a manual and sometimes a manual is nice, about 20 percent of the time for me, the rest of the time it can change gear itself.

Not sure what you are used to, I dont think an A45 will suit if you dont like some rough gearchanges now and again.

[Deep Thought]

J4CKO said:

Not sure what you are used to, I dont think an A45A35 will suit if you dont like some rough gearchanges now and again.

Has that been levelled as a criticism at the new A35? (i assume you meant A35)

[ahghafoor]

The child in me says that looks the bee's knees.

[J4CKO]

Deep Thought said:

J4CKO said:

Not sure what you are used to, I dont think an A45A35 will suit if you dont like some rough gearchanges now and again.

Has that been levelled as a criticism at the new A35? (i assume you meant A35)

No, was citing the A45 as it has suitably sporty gearchanges, am guessing its not all the time but the reviews do say it can be quite abrupt.

[Deep Thought]

J4CKO said:

Deep Thought said:

J4CKO said:

Not sure what you are used to, I dont think an A45A35 will suit if you dont like some rough gearchanges now and again.

Has that been levelled as a criticism at the new A35? (i assume you meant A35)

No, was citing the A45 as it has suitably sporty gearchanges, am guessing its not all the time but the reviews do say it can be quite abrupt.

Ah ok, i think he was talking about the A35 though.

I think the original 2013 A45 got a bit of a name for gear changes, but that was mostly resolved with the facelift, so i'd expect this to have excellent changes.

[gofasterrosssco]

Well, if you like a 4-pot turbo, 4WD, slightly over-weight German 'premium' hatch back with extra exhaust parp, you're certainly spoilt for choice, given the next M135i will use this format..

It's all getting a touch predictable..

[Deep Thought]

gofasterrosssco said:

Well, if you like a 4-pot turbo, 4WD, slightly over-weight German 'premium' hatch back with extra exhaust parp, you're certainly spoilt for choice, given the next M135i will use this format..

It's all getting a touch predictable..

Well the market gets what the market wants - or is it the market wants what the market gets?

[Nerdherder]

Ditch the wing and exterior stickers and I could actually see myself driving it. Nice work Merc.

[1974foggy]

I know its a new variant, but I dont like the recent facelift front and rear of the A class.

[WCZ]

nice @ £35k but I'd rather save up the extra 5-6k and get an rs3 then remap it to 550bhp

[Deep Thought]

WCZ said:

nice @ £35k but I'd rather save up the extra 5-6k and get an rs3 then remap it to 550bhp

Theres £10,000 difference in price between the two and clearly at £10K difference theres enough for both Audi with the S3 and Mercedes with this to slot a model in below the RS3 / A45. And BMW with the M2 / M240i for that matter.

Edited by Deep Thought on Wednesday 31st October 12:25

[wab172uk]

WCZ said:

nice @ £35k but I'd rather save up the extra 5-6k and get an rs3 then remap it to 550bhp

I'm assuming the extra £5-6k is for a second hand RS3 then? As the cheapest RS3 you can buy without options is £45k. With essential (but not going mad options) you're looking at £52k.

But the A35 is the S3 rival, not the RS3 rival. So best to wait for the A45 for your comparison test.

Personally (as an S3 saloon owner) the A35 / 45 cars leave me cold. The styling just looks wrong to me, and the new Merc (Slap the biggest tablet on the dash) interiors are all glitz and glamour, while I prefer simple conventional dials and a manual gearbox.

At £35k is looks appealing (once discounts are available) but once you start adding options, this new A35 is a £42-45k car. Which to me, is too much.

[Deep Thought]

wab172uk said:

WCZ said:

nice @ £35k but I'd rather save up the extra 5-6k and get an rs3 then remap it to 550bhp

I'm assuming the extra £5-6k is for a second hand RS3 then? As the cheapest RS3 you can buy without options is £45k. With essential (but not going mad options) you're looking at £52k.

But the A35 is the S3 rival, not the RS3 rival. So best to wait for the A45 for your comparison test.

Personally (as an S3 saloon owner) the A35 / 45 cars leave me cold. The styling just looks wrong to me, and the new Merc (Slap the biggest tablet on the dash) interiors are all glitz and glamour, while I prefer simple conventional dials and a manual gearbox.

At £35k is looks appealing (once discounts are available) but once you start adding options, this new A35 is a £42-45k car. Which to me, is too much.

I'd be very surprised if people were whacking on £8,000 - £10,000 of options on to one of these. It would be wholly unnecessary. We spec'd our A45 with +£6,000 of options and it was one of the highest spec'd A45s the dealer had sold. At that price point i think +£3,000 - £4,000 will be the norm.

And dont forget there'll be an easy 10% avail off these in a few months. I'd be surprised if you couldnt spec one of these with options and get it discounted back to £35K ish.

Irrespective though, theres still £10K+ of "air" between a spec'd A45 / RS3 and a spec'd A35 / S3 which sounds about right.

Edited by Deep Thought on Wednesday 31st October 12:42

[sledge68]

Why A35 when it has a 2.0 Ts engine?

My Legacy has a 2.0 Ts engine and its a 2.0 Legacy Spec B, do I need to call it a 35 Legacy Spec B?

[Deep Thought]

sledge68 said:

Why A35 when it has a 2.0 Ts engine?

My Legacy has a 2.0 Ts engine and its a 2.0 Legacy Spec B, do I need to call it a 35 Legacy Spec B?

The A45 has a two litre engine too.

Its AMG's naming conventions. Their cars, their rules.

But apparently "The biggest reason the name is 45 is because if they were to use "A20 AMG" it would probably be too close to the A200 sold in Europe. But to show its place in the AMG hierarchy, it is 45 to slot below the 63 AMG performance & price."

It follows that the A35 slots in below that.

Edited by Deep Thought on Wednesday 31st October 12:50

[easytiger123]

FN2TypeR said:

fk me that interior is absolutely vile.

Agreed. I also think it will also look incredibly dated very quickly.