RE: Mercedes-AMG A35: UK Drive

[theplayingmantis]

and e43?

are they not diluting the badge?

[macdeb]

Dale487 said:

Mike1990 said:

I really do like that Interior.

I just can't see past the love child of a massive iPad & a Rover SD1 in the dial area (I assume this design makes putting bigger/better iPads in on the facelift version very easy).

Edited by Dale487 on Tuesday 22 January 10:18

^^^^ Good call, That interior is awful

[Deep Thought]

theplayingmantis said:

and e43?

are they not diluting the badge?

Indeed yes, i said c43 only as you mentioned c63

IMHO yes - they've strayed where BMW and Audi didnt go.

• BMW halo brand - M, next level down - M140i, M340i, so not badged as full on M cars.
• Audi halo brand - RS, next level down S - S3, S4, S5 so not badged as full on RS cars.
• Mercedes halo brand - AMG, next level down.... still AMG.

And thats before we even get in to the clones of AMG cars that Mercedes make under the "AMG Line" trim level.

[hornmeister]

Isn't it:

• BMW halo brand - M, next level down - M140i, M340i, so not badged as full on M cars. Then M Sport which is a trim level
• Audi halo brand - RS, next level down S - S3, S4, S5 so not badged as full on RS cars then S Line which is a trim level
• Mercedes halo brand - AMG, then AMG Line which is a trim level.

They did used to do an "Engineered by AMG A series pre face lift. which I suppose would have been equivalent to the M140 etc. But they've stopped that now and just call it the A250 sport. As such there's less watering down of the AMG brand than there is of the others mentioned surely?

Edited by hornmeister on Wednesday 23 January 16:31

[Matt Bird]

steveb8189 said:

The Article said:

This is not a detuned M176, that monster of a four-cylinder found in the A-Class flagship

Isn't the M176 the V8 in the C63? I thought the A45 was an M133

Sorry, you're right - AMG knowledge lacking Sorted it now, thanks for the heads up.


Matt

[Deep Thought]

hornmeister said:

Isn't it:

• BMW halo brand - M, next level down - M140i, M340i, so not badged as full on M cars. Then M Sport which is a trim level
• Audi halo brand - RS, next level down S - S3, S4, S5 so not badged as full on RS cars then S Line which is a trim level
• Mercedes halo brand - AMG, then AMG Line which is a trim level.

They did used to do an "Engineered by AMG A series pre face lift. which I suppose would have been equivalent to the M140 etc. But they've stopped that now and just call it the A250 sport. As such there's less watering down of the AMG brand than there is of the others mentioned surely?

Edited by hornmeister on Wednesday 23 January 16:31

No, because the M140i sits above the M Sport trim level and the S3 sits above the S Line trim level.

They're using the AMG brand to rival the high performance rivals to the M2 and RS3, but also using the same brand to rival the M240i and S3.

So the dilution of the brand comes from the fact that if you're previous an AMG you had the top performance car, whereas now it spans two levels. Also Audi and BMW RS and M cars respectively tend to have bespoke body panels to differentiate them whereas AMG cars tend to only have bespoke bumpers, so you can get whats effectively an AMG clone by buying the AMG Line car with a couple of factory options, thus further IMHO diluting the brand.

Edited by Deep Thought on Wednesday 23 January 17:23

[ross_edwards93]

Going off the pictures you posted this has the £595 Mountain Grey Metallic option not the £1,795 Designo Mountain Grey 👍🏼

[ross_edwards93]

JMF894 said:

1800 quid for resale grey.

Come on MB I expect this from Porsche not you.

Biggest problem is it's tagged as an AMG. Agree with the Rover SD1 dash comment.

They have got this wrong on the review. The car which was tested in Aberdeen for this review which is shown in the pictures has the £595 Grey Metallic option not the £1,795 designo matte option. Shows how much the person who wrote the review knows about cars 😅

[L555BAT]

moffat said:

I wonder how many options are really needed and how many aren't?

I say that as I can imagine if you want the car to look good i.e. the bodykit and then have the tech on offer you will need to speak close to £45k for a pretend AMG.

Those waiting for the A45 are going to be met with some eye watering prices. I would bet that a fairly well specced A45 will come in more expensive than a similarly specced M4 Comp Pack and on a PCP deal probably a whole lot more expensive. It's going to take some brave deep pockets!

MB seem to have become the BMW of the 90's where all the key options are priced very high.

I see many of the options are in packs, so if you want one thing you also have to pay for a lot of other stuff you don't want. Some £1300 pack if you want an auto-dimming rear view mirror!

edited to correct: wrongly thought "Mercedes-AMG" meant proper AMG while "Mercedes X AMG" was the lesser cars (M140i, S3 kind)

Edited by L555BAT on Wednesday 23 January 22:05

[okenemem]

not keen on exhaust

[Welshbeef]

Eh?

A35 AMG not AMG A35?

The C63 is called the C63 AMG

I’m lost what was the point you tried to make

[HIS LM]

Still, fading light in an airport car park might be best for the A35; even on 19-inch wheels and with a very expensive paint option it packs neither the drama of the class's more overt alternatives or the effortless cohesion found among its German-built contemporaries. Or not to these eyes, at least. Some may appreciate the potency cloaked in subtlety vibe, though there's surely an argument to say it verges on plain. The lack of razzmatazz seems all the more conspicuous when you consider the (as tested here) £48,000 price. Yes, really.


This blokes writing style is painful, wtf is he talking about ?

[Welshbeef]

Honeywell said:

You could have a BMW 530d Touring for the price of this wee hatchback.

Are the AMG badges made of pure unobtainium?

And then you add the options to it and it’s a lot more.

[mikegemmill]

Shame you can’t spec the upgrade wheels without the aero kit? Strangely it seems they show this on a lot of the images that come up on google search?

https://goo.gl/images/MkVxEi

And does anyone know why the U.K. don’t get the AMG seats?

Edited by mikegemmill on Thursday 24th January 10:38

[Welshbeef]

mikegemmill said:

Shame you can’t spec the upgrade wheels without the aero kit? Strangely it as seems they show this on a lot of the images that come up on google search?

https://goo.gl/images/MkVxEi

And does anyone know why the U.K. don’t get the AMG seats?

Brexit.

Also we don’t get the G30 540d why?

[The Voice]

scoopdydoo said:

You lost me when you said the m140i was lacking a great engine. It's 6 cylinder is only matched by the lump in the RS3. That, and it being RWD mean in 5 years time we'll all be wishing they still made it.

Agreed - what a bizarre thing for the PH journo to say. The B58 is the best thing about the M140i, it’s widely regarded as a barnstormer of an engine.

Makes you question the quality of some of these PH writers.

[Deep Thought]

mikegemmill said:

Shame you can’t spec the upgrade wheels without the aero kit? Strangely it as seems they show this on a lot of the images that come up on google search?

https://goo.gl/images/MkVxEi

And does anyone know why the U.K. don’t get the AMG seats?

Yes we got the 19's on our A45 as part of the midnight pack (or similarly named) which also got us pan roof and stuff we wanted. We didnt want the aero pack. Not sure i'd want to be pushed in to aero + alloys at the price they're asking.

Edited by Deep Thought on Thursday 24th January 10:26

[st4]

Welshbeef said:

Brexit.

Also we don’t get the G30 540d why?

Because it is a horrible dirty diesel.

We are better off with petrol engines.

Maybe because I am not a German car fan anymore I am quite happy if Brexit means a few less of these cars on our roads and maybe people will start buying Superior Japanese and Korean makes and these makers may bring us the better models they offer overseas that they do not yet offer here.

[WokkaWokka]

Dr G said:

Unfortunately articles on PH seem to be of a wildly variable standard and are often little more than some of the samey forum replies:

There's no manual (nobody buys manuals)

It's not 20k new (it's not 1992 any more)

Too many electric nannies (Being dead sucks)

Motoring journalists seem to be a bit out of touch with what people want to buy/use/own these days...

I’m not sure if maybe I’m missing the irony in your post? I went to buy a manual Porsche 991 GT3 this week principally because it’s a great drivers car. Once I find the right one I’ll occasinally switch off the electronics when I feel the conditions are safe enough.

Yeah you’re right about the 20k new bit.

[R400TVR]

Horrible dash, no manual gearbox, nasty styling, and a £48000 price tag? No way.