V177 Mercedes-AMG A35 4Matic sedan unveiled

KUALA LUMPUR: The midrange Mercedes-AMG A35 4Matic hot hatch, which made its debut last year in September has been refurbished. It now showcases a 420-litres of boot capacity. The new car is designated as Mercedes-AMG A35 4Matic sedan, and apart from the added boot and some changes in design, the new sedan carries the same engine along with some other goodies from its half-year old sibling. Also, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia recently added E 350 AMG to E-Class lineup.

As mentioned above, the main distinguishing part of this sedan from its hatch sibling is obviously the added 420-litres boot. Other specific features of the A35 sedan include a unique instrument cluster and an optional AMG Performance steering wheel. The dashboard sports a large display panel, which totes the Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) infotainment system. The MBUX can be operated using voice commands (‘Hey Mercedes!”) along with other methods.

Moving to its exterior, the sedan gets a twin-louvre grille that houses the brand’s logo. The number plate and bumper follow this setup, also gloss black shrouds flank the latter at its corners. Aside from the silvery outlines on wheel rims, spokes, and the logo, rest of the body garners a unicolor outfit. The LED headlights look like the wings of the grille and run up to the contour of the quarter-panel.

While there’s nothing much to say about the side profiles, it is the rear that deserves a few lines. Doing away with the tailgate of the last year’s model, the new Mercedes-AMG A35 features a boot lid, which gets a spoiler to damp the unfavourable air flow. Then comes the LED taillights with entirely different graphics than the previous year hatch. The lower end of the rear is marked by twin exhaust pipes on both ends integrated within the rear bumper.

Under the bonnet, there is a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine that delivers a maximum power of 306 hp at 5,800 rpm along with a peak torque of 400 Nm between the rev range of 3,000 rpm and 4,000 rpm. The power is transmitted to the wheels via variable AMG Performance 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. Moreover, this sedan can sprint from 0 to 100 kmph in 4.8 seconds, making it slower than the hatch.