Mercedes-AMG A35 W177
The AMG hot hatch aimed at the Golf R, not the lap record — and better on a wet B-road for it.
The AMG built to be lived with: less engine and less rear axle than the A45, and easier to use all of.
43 reviewers · 64 videos · 13 hours watched
Reviewers strongly agree on its performance and handling, but split on daily drivability and value.
across 43 reviewers
"in the city when you're watering around it's all quite civil and docile sound levels do well really quiet and it's a pretty refined drive"
Autocar India · ▶ 2:33"the road isolation for me is enough for me to personally not consider the a35."
Max Landi Reviews · ▶ 12:27"I genuinely think this is the best value sports car... I really cannot think of any other sports car for this money that is new that offers as much as this car"
Speed Creed TV · ▶ 21:12"which is a lot of money for such a small car to be honest it really is"
azizdrives · ▶ 2:06Performance
4.0/543 of 43 reviewersstrong consensus“this test is about performance and on that measure the AMG is the winner”
positive · carsales · ▶ 10:24“the car feels quick and eager 400 Newton meters is plenty of torque for a car this size”
positive · CarsGuide · ▶ 6:41“this a35 is shockingly quick. It feels rapid launching off of the line or really just using the power band in the mid-range.”
positive · Max Landi Reviews · ▶ 2:12Handling
4.0/543 of 43 reviewersstrong consensus“it has a kung fu grip on the road the whole way that inspires confidence even across uneven off camber corners”
positive · carsales · ▶ 2:02“this car is really I would say flat in the corners”
positive · Ivan Sensei · ▶ 9:57“The steering wheel is super quick it is absolutely phenomenal how much feel and feedback the steering wheel offers you”
positive · Faisal Khan · ▶ 1:34Fun to drive
4.0/543 of 43 reviewersstrong consensus“you can grab the AMG by the scruff of its neck you can really abuse it”
positive · carsales · ▶ 3:52“I love how this car makes you feel like a really really great hot hatch and not racing driver but this sort of you get this feeling racing feeling”
positive · Ivan Sensei · ▶ 15:41“in the sporty ammos the exhaust has a very Rorty and entertaining raucous tone to it”
positive · CarsGuide · ▶ 10:23Daily drivability
4.0/543 of 43 reviewerssplit“in the city when you're watering around it's all quite civil and docile sound levels do well really quiet and it's a pretty refined drive”
positive · Autocar India · ▶ 2:33“the road isolation for me is enough for me to personally not consider the a35.”
critical · Max Landi Reviews · ▶ 12:27“if we go on to some some rough back road chip that's 100 kilometres an hour on a typical when your Zealand back road that's loud really loud.”
mixed · CarNut · ▶ 10:20Value
3.5/542 of 43 reviewerssplit“I genuinely think this is the best value sports car... I really cannot think of any other sports car for this money that is new that offers as much as this car”
positive · Speed Creed TV · ▶ 21:12“it's going to be priced attractively it's obviously assembled in india”
positive · Faisal Khan · ▶ 19:18“which is a lot of money for such a small car to be honest it really is”
critical · azizdrives · ▶ 2:06The A35 is the W177 A-Class with the M260 turned up. It is a transverse 2.0-litre four with a twin-scroll turbo, built on the regular Mercedes engine line rather than by one technician at Affalterbach — which is the first and biggest difference from the A45 above it. It makes its torque low and delivers it evenly, and it does not have the top-end rush of the M139.
Mechanically the car is front-biased. AMG Performance 4MATIC runs as front-drive until the rear clutch engages, and can send up to half the torque to the back axle. There is no side-to-side vectoring. The shell is stiffened with an aluminium plate under the engine and extra bracing at the front, and the steering knuckles and brakes are specific to the AMG.
How it drives: neat, grippy and secure rather than playful. It turns in cleanly, holds a line, and puts its power down in conditions where a front-drive hot hatch would be scrabbling. What it will not do is rotate on the throttle.
Where it places in the lineage: the car that split the hot A-Class in two. Before it, the A45 was the only one; now the A45 could become extreme because the A35 covers the sensible ground.
Hear it in the reviewer’s words
No primary articles scraped yet for this nameplate. Check back as the pipeline crawls more publications.
No rear torque vectoring — the 4MATIC rear clutch sends up to half the drive aft but cannot split it side to side, so there is no A45-style drift mode. The exhaust pops on the overrun are engineered in and divide opinion. The ride on the 19-inch wheels is firm on passive dampers. The 2023 facelift added a 48V belt-driven starter-generator and an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox. US sales were sedan only and lasted two model years, 2020 and 2021; the curb weight shown is the US sedan's, and the European hatch is roughly 260 lb lighter.