MERCEDESAMG A 35 4MATIC

The cliched line saying “Good things come in small packages” has a new mascot

- ROHIT PARADKAR

I have a thing for yellow AMGs. Like the first AMG GT in the country that I drove back in 2015, or the new GT R we unlocked last year with the road trip to Balasinor. Those coupés look stunning in yellow and I would choose a yellow GTR over a green one in a heartbeat. But would I buy the A 35 in yellow? Maybe I would — because I don’t mind turning up to work wearing a pair of socks or a necktie that has Tweety Bird and the rest of the Looney Tunes on it. But you still need to report to an office space and going work in greyscale is your thing, maybe the yellow A 35 isn’t for you. Maybe the A 35 isn’t for you at all.

Design

It is a flamboyant little package aimed at those who are still very young and colourful at heart and while I did love the previous-generation CLA 45 AMG for what it was, I think the A 35 looks much sharper and has an even more athletic stance. The simple lines of the A-Class make the AMG bits stand out on the A 35 — like the more aggressive bumpers with larger air dams and splitters at the front and rear, and the cute little spoiler on the boot lid. Of course, one can buy some of these things as accessories on a regular A-Class too, and then there are those jokes that people might make about these aerodynamic bits if you never really take your car to the track, but the sound coming out of A 35’s twin, fully-functional tailpipes should put such concerns to rest.

Type 1,991cc, 4-cylinder turbo-petrol

Max power 306PS@5,800rpm

Max torque 400Nm @3,000-4,000rpm

LxWxH(mm) 4,549 x 1,796 x 1,446

Price 60 lakh (estd., ex-showroom)

+ Responsive engine, sharp handling

- Gearbox could be quicker, car could be louder