What's the news?
Ahead of its world debut next month at the 2018 Paris Motor Show, full details of the 2019 Mercedes-AMG A 35 hot hatch have been released. As the name suggests, the A 35 sits below a forthcoming replacement for the original Mercedes-AMG A 45, making it the entry-point to AMG ownership. Despite that, there's nothing 'junior' about this car's engineering, design and performance.
Exterior
The Mercedes AMG A 35 doesn't need the bright yellow paintwork of the car pictured to stand out, as it promises to be every inch the AMG hot hatch in appearance. Saying all that, we suspect that you're looking at a version with larger optional alloy wheels (they're 19s) and perhaps an additional black-themed styling package, as AMG talks about the standard car featuring 18-inch rims and chrome trim up front. That large roof spoiler is unlikely to be standard too, which is great news, as those that want to stand out can specify their A 35 as shown, while the rest of us can enjoy less attention - and presumably better ride comfort - by sticking with the standard specification.
Interior
Inside, the A 35 upholstery can be a mix of man-made Artico leather and Dinamica microfibre, paired with red seatbelts, stitching and piping. The serious looking seats in our pictures are thought to be the optional upgrade items, but sports seats are standard. There's a distinct black-grey-red theme, extending to red rings around the air vents. Just as attention-grabbing, however, is an AMG interpretation of the MBUX Windscreen Cockpit setup we've already seen in the regular Mercedes A-Class. For the A 35, there are three display styles including 'Supersport', which features a centrally-positioned round rev counter. The driver can also choose to display various AMG-specific sets of data, under the banners of Warm-up, Set-up, G-Force and Engine Data. This is all complemented by new AMG menus and displays for the central touchscreen, plus a bespoke piano black centre console with buttons to alter the ESP stability control, transmission and adaptive damping (if fitted).
Last, but certainly not least, is a new design of flat-bottomed AMG steering wheel. As standard, there's perforated leather in the grip area, red stitching and metallic gearchange paddles behind. In the initial release images, the wheel appears to have a suede-like material in the grip area. It also features optional new buttons and controls below the spokes. On the right, there's a rotary controller and LCD screen for the AMG drive modes, while on the left are two configurable buttons that also neatly display their function in a small screen.
Mechanicals
Now the juicy bit. If you were expecting the AMG A 35 to be significantly toned down, mechanically speaking, from the old A 45, then you're in for a surprise. Under the bonnet is a newly developed 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. It uses a twin-scroll turbocharger to produce up to 306hp and 400Nm of torque. That's bolted to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which sends power to all four wheels in a continuously variable manner, with up to 100 per cent of the engine output to the front axle and a maximum of 50 per cent to the rear wheels. Mercedes quotes a 0-100km/h time of 4.7 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 250km/h. The efficiency numbers have yet to be finalised, but emissions will likely be in Band D (just under 170g/km).
The five drive modes are called Slippery, Comfort, Sport, Sport + and Individual; the 4Matic four-wheel-drive system has Comfort and Sport settings; ESP can be set to on, off or Sport; and three-mode adaptive damping is optional. Along with all that, there's a new AMG Dynamics system that can brake an inside rear wheel to help the car turn in - or stabilise it. This has Basic and Advanced settings that can be chosen via the Individual mode - and are automatically part of the other driving settings.
Elsewhere, the AMG A 35 features significantly uprated brakes; a two-mode, variable ratio, variable assistance power steering setup; and an automatically controlled exhaust flap to alter the sound depending on driving mode selected.
Anything else?
Buyers of the Mercedes-AMG A 35 that are particularly keen on using it on a race track would do well to invest in the optional AMG Track Pace system, touted as a 'virtual race engineer'. This records more than 80 data streams from the car and lap times, displaying the latter with an obvious red/green colour as a comparison to the previous lap and allows you analyse the data at a later stage. It even has some of the world's best-known tracks already embedded and it can use the MBUX Augmented Reality function to display the ideal racing line.