Mercedes AMG A35/A45 4MATIC (2023) Review

‘IS THIS an electric?’ asks the boy. ‘No son, it’s as far away from an electric as you could possibly imagine,’ I reply. But thinking about it I get what he means.

As both AMG A Class Mercedes burst into life the snarl of the engine and bark from the multiple exhausts leave you in no doubt that these are ICE (internal combustion engines) not EV (electric vehicles).

However, as number one son is pressed back into the sports seats while we accelerate onto the motorway I get why he thinks they are EVs, the performance is ‘electric’, instant, exhilarating.

There’s such a lot to think about in this current transitional world of motoring where you have to balance the benefits of electric over petrol.

A petrol head friend of mine summed it up like this: “Well, you can nuke a chicken in a microwave but to get the full flavour and enjoyment you have to go old style and cook it in an oven.”

If you enjoy driving, rather than just use the car for transport, then you need certain things to stimulate your senses, two of which are sound and feel, which are key elements EVs lack. Electrics are fast but not furious, they make no noise whatsoever which can leave them feeling a bit sterile.

To live a little more your keen driver wants to hear the engine and exhaust, feel the road through taut suspension and be exhilarated by the performance. He wants to drive not sit in an armchair playing what amounts to a driving video game – and that’s what you get with an AMG Mercedes.

Here we test two back to back, the A35 and the A45. They are both absolute missiles, designed for the purist and incredibly capable of delivering the hot hatch experience buyers demand.

The other strange thing that EVs have done is push that envelope surrounding costs. Once upon a time these AMGs would have seemed pricey and why not? They are a prestige brand within a prestige brand and you would expect them to be the wrong side of £50K. But today £50,000 and £60,000 only buys you a mainstream Japanese or Korean EV, which makes the AMGs look a complete bargain – what a mad world we live in.

Both AMGs look the part, the A35 in white, the A45 in stealth grey. They are low and wide with large menacing grilles, huge alloys behind which large painted brake callipers show through. At the back there are diffusers and twin exhausts on the A35, four pipes on the A45. They are certainly no ordinary A-Classes and attract the attention of a certain demographic who are in the know. Respect is duly accorded.

Inside it’s the same. A-Class has a more than decent interior to start with but the AMGs come with sporty stitched leather and Alcantara, chunky steering wheels and pronounced sports seats. If you have ever been in a track car you’ll recognise the ergonomics and you feel instantly that you are in something very special.

On the road both are thrilling to drive even without speeding. You get hand-built four-cylinder petrol engines which are the world’s most powerful 2.0-litre turbocharged motors, well in the A45 anyway. Performance is blistering and you reach the respective legal limits in seconds. Overtaking could not be easier as the seamless automatic gearboxes kickdown to smash the revs straight into the broad powerbands and you are passed and back safely on your side of the road in the blink of an eye.

Ride is hard which impacts on comfort levels but boosts feel to the maximum. You can tell what all four wheels are doing at any time and the levels of grip are good thanks to 4MATIC all-wheel-drive and all manner of wizardry under the skin. It’s the twisty way home on the school run every time for me and it is a joy in both AMGs thanks to peerless balance, handling and steering, all backed by a soundtrack of throaty exhaust and spine-tingling engine noise.

But how do you choose between the two? Well, that’s tricky because on the road there is so little difference.

The A45 is marginally quicker off the mark, 0.8 of a second to 62mph to be precise, thanks to 106hp extra oomph. Top speed is also up by 13mph from 155 to 168mph. But in the real world does that matter. Economy wise there’s very little to choose either. I manage more than 38mpg in the A35 and 34mpg in the A45. If you are liberal with the throttle in either this drops to the high 20s.

I’d say the ride is marginally more forgiving in the A45 which seems to smooth the bumps and potholes better than its cheaper sibling. Both get a dial on the steering wheel which you can use to switch between comfort and race modes – you can imagine the results.

Then there’s the difference in cost – £13,660. Can the A45 be worth the wad of cash more? The truth is that on today’s roads the A35 is more than enough for most drivers. On a track of course the A45 would edge it. Thing is, when you reach this level, image is everything and the stealth A45 does attract more attention than the white A35, so the answer, if you like to pose, is undoubtedly yes. And you can always ‘charge’ it to your credit card.

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