Chinese Magazine Leaks Mercedes Benz A-Class Sedan Ahead Of Beijing Debut

Chinese Magazine Leaks Mercedes Benz A-Class Sedan Ahead Of Beijing Debut

The Audi S3 sedan and Mercedes AMG A35 sedan couldnt be more different in terms of appearance. The fact that they are both sedans is really where the similarities end because they display vastly different design philosophies. 聰 while the Mercedes says 聯come on, throw me into a corner, I dare you! The front end on both cars are dominated by big openings, some of which let air in, while others dont. Audis in recent memory have been accused of having oversized grilles that look ridiculous, but frankly, looking at the S3 dead on, its grille seems perfectly proportioned for its size. Of the two, its the A35 AMG that has the larger and more obvious grille, as well as the larger and more obvious brand logo displayed on it. The Mercedes also has active ducts to channel air from around the fake vent in the foglight area and out behind the bumper, and the Audi appears to have those too, but they dont lead anywhere. Now if there is one exterior angle that will leave anybody in no doubt in regards to the fact that these two cars are direct rivals, thats the side view.

From the side, they have eerily similar overall proportions and what sets them apart are their more angular and curvaceous styles. And, the similarities continue. Both cars have very similar creases both in the upper and lower parts of the body (close to the cars shoulder line and side skirt). The upper crease follows the shape of the car, and it shows the Audi is considerably more straight, while the Mercedes has considerably more tapering in its design. The rear crease is identical in terms of shape, placement, and purpose on both cars. In terms of the shape of their roof, we again cant ignore the similarities, but if we showed you photos of them in black and white, youd not know which one belongs to what car. The Mercedes A35 sedan does look like it has the stubbier, perter rear end, though, and its ducktail trunk lid spoiler is bigger and more obvious too. Overall, while I do think the S3 sedan is one of the better-looking sedans at any price, the A35 sedan might be even better; I think it might become my new favorite from the segment.

Believe it or not, the rear end designs of these two sedans are not really that different. Sure, the A35s rear light clusters are bigger compared to the S3s, but they are roughly the same shape and are placed pretty much in the same place. The Mercedes light clusters also curve around the corners of the car a lot more than the Audis do, and this wrap-around design goes very well with the more curvy aesthetic of the A35 sedan. Plus I prefer the Audis twin dual exhaust tips, as opposed to the Mercedes single tips surrounded by yet more plastic - the Audi's bumper is the more tasteful and aesthetically pleasing of the two for me. There is a huge difference inside these cars, much greater than the difference between their exteriors. On the other hand, the A35 feels like its a car from the near future that you can buy today.

It has a similar twin-screen setup, similar round air vents, button placement, and overall layout, and yet it exudes such a different vibe compared to the S3 sedan. The Mercedes interior has far more dramatic shapes, it uses mood lighting to great effect, and it kind of makes rivals look like theyre from the last decade. The Mercedes has two 10.25-inch screens, while the Audi has a bigger 12.3-inch screen for infotainment and another 7-inch screen atop the center console. The latter can actually retract into the dashboard when not required, and thus it makes the S3s cabin feel a little less busy and cluttered compared to the A35s. The A35s interior is just dominated by the two big screens - in the Audi, your attention is drawn to the brilliant 12.3-inch digital gauges, but everything else is considerably more subtle than in the Mercedes. With the floating screens, the excessive mood lighting (thats even embedded into the center of all the turbine-style air vents,) and the more appealing steering wheel, the Mercedes just pips it as being the nicer place to sit.

The Audi S3 sedan has a whisker less shoulder room inside than the Mercedes AMG A35 sedan; up front its 1,392 mm versus 1,400 mm, while in the rear its 1,372 mm versus 1,345 mm. However, the S3 sedan has more rear legroom - 892 mm to the A35 sedans 861 mm. When it comes to carrying passengers, they are very evenly matched, although since the Audi has a bit more rear legroom, it has to be the better pick for carrying passengers (it also has a slightly larger trunk). The AMG A35 sedan features Mercedes latest MBUX infotainment system that runs on a pair of 10.25-inch screens that you can also get in the C-Class and E-Class sedans, as well as other new Three Pointed Star offerings. MBUX does all the things you expect from a modern infotainment, it offers some customization of its interface, artificial intelligence that learns and adapts according to what the driver does, natural speech recognition, and three ways of interacting with it. You can either use the small clickable touchpads on the steering wheel, the controls mounted on the center stack, or just prodding the screen.