2021 Mercedes AMG A35

 
 

For this week’s review we’ve gotten our hands on the 2021 Mercedes AMG A35 Hatch. In North America it is only available in Canada. Does this spicy hot hatch have what it takes to be king of hot hatches? Only one way to find out. Keep on reading!

Disclosure: Mercedes Benz Canada provided me with the 2021 A35 for a week to test drive, and photograph. All photos in this blog post was taken by me. #MercedesAMGA35

ACCELERATION: 9.5/10

  • AMG-enhanced 2.0L inline-4 turbo
    302HP @ 5800 / 295 lb-ft @ 3000-4000 RPM

  • AMG SPEEDSHIFT DCT 7-speed

  • 4.7 second 0-100 km/hr

  • The acceleration made me go wow the first time I launched the car. It is pretty wild.

BRAKING: 9.5/10

  • 105 ft to stop from 100 km to 0 which is very short

HANDLING: 9.5/10

  • The amount of grip is incredible and very nimble

RIDE: 7/10

  • Obviously firmer sport suspensions is going to affect the comfort on rougher roads. Overall this is a good balance of not being too stiff to the point where I felt like I was being beat up like in the Veloster N

ECONOMY: 8.5/10

  • 24/31/27 MPG (City/Highway/Combined)

CABIN NOISE: 5/10

  • Very unfortunate that this car squeaks a lot and is very audible. Just because of that noise it’s enough to make me think twice about owning this.

  • Cabin is significantly louder than everything in the luxury segment.

EXTERIOR: 8.5/10

  • Love the mature look. The Type R and Veloster looks like its for kids, and Golf R is a bit plain that won’t turn heads

INTERIOR FOR DRIVER: 8/10

  • Like all MB products it has a ton of tech

  • Seats have a good range of motion and is comfortable

  • Drives great when going fast but when going slow the transmissions is quite clunky. It may not be a great option as a daily driver in stop and go traffic.

  • For whatever reason this car makes a lot of squeaking sounds which is very noticable when driving slow.

INTERIOR FOR PASSENGERS: 7.5/10

  • Legroom is a on the lower end but surprisingly the A35 has more headroom than the CLA35. You may want to consider the A class over the CLA if you’re having taller people in the back.

Combined Legroom:

  • 77.5 - S60

  • 77.2 - M3

  • 77.1 - 3-Series

  • 76.3 - A3/S3

  • 76.3 - ILX

  • 75.8 - 2-Series

  • 75.7 - AMG A35

  • 75.7 - CLA35

  • 75.6 - CT4-V

Rear Headroom:

  • 37.8 - M3

  • 37.7 - 3-Series

  • 37.2 - S60

  • 37.2 - AMG A35

  • 36.5 - CT4-V

  • 36.1 - A3/S3

  • 35.9 - ILX

  • 35.7 - CLA35

  • 35.6 - 2-Series

INTERIOR STORAGE: 8.5/10

  • 13 Cu Ft of trunk cargo space

  • 42.7 Cu Ft. with the seats down

  • Hatch design makes it easy to load in bulkier items.

OVERALL IMPRESSION OF THE 2021 Mercedes AMG A35:

The redesigned 2021 A35 AMG is a hot hatch that really is a lot of fun to drive hard and looks stylish in a mature way. It competes against hot hatch rivals like the Veloster N, Civic Type R, Golf R and Mini JCW. The cabin design and tech completely outclasses the competition. In terms of exterior looks I think this looks the best too.

The A35 may not be the best option as an everyday driver. The transmissions is clunky at low speeds, and everytime I start up the car it makes this squeaking sound. At first I thought maybe it’s just an issue with the press vehicle but looking online, many owners have flagged the squeaking issue. I’m sure warranty would help cover it but I’d be rather annoyed if I bought an A35 and it made those sounds all the time. In my opinion that is a dealbreaker and would make me think twice before buying this car. In my opinion a luxury vehicle should not be squeaking.

The only thing is it’s quite expensive. If you do buy this you’ll stand out on the road for sure!

 
 
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