Mercedes-Benz GLA35 vs Mercedes-Benz A35

What's the difference?

Fast SUVs, we can't get enough of them. The fastest of the small SUV set was the previous-generation GLA 45, a high-riding version of AMG's bonkers A-Class hatchback. Tons of power, more ride height (and, by extension, a better ride) and an obnoxious soundtrack.

It had its problems - the GLA was literally just a jacked up A-Class, so it had tight rear legroom and a chintzy interior but for me it was the pick of the two cars because it didn't rearrange your spine and, perversely, was more fun to drive.

This year, we got the second generation GLA which built on the success of the first GLA. While, yes, it is a jacked-up A-Class, it is much more of an actual SUV and with it comes more space, more of its own personality and, like its hatchback sibling, there's a new high-performance version, the GLA 35 to sit under the even more bonkers GLA 45.

If you want a Mercedes-AMG A45 sedan, you’re dead out of luck - there isn’t going to be one. Your alternatives are the sleeker, more style-focused CLA 45 four-door ‘coupe’, or the A45 hatch, which is more often associated with boy racer types… with deep pockets.

Or you could buy this car - the Mercedes-AMG A35 4Matic sedan. A lot of pundits have questioned the two-prong AMG strategy in the hatchback range, with the A35 slotting between the already-pretty-hot A250 4Matic and A45 S.

In the sedan line-up, however, there’s a different approach, with the Mercedes-AMG A35 4Matic topping the range. So is it a fitting flagship for the small sedan line-up? It certainly has the tech, safety and equipment levels to live up to buyers’ expectations. 

And as a rival to the likes of the Audi S3 sedan, BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe and its own sibling, the Mercedes-AMG CLA35, does it offer a compelling alternative?

Let’s go through it, criteria by criteria.