2020 Mercedes-AMG CLA 35 Looks Finished, Clears Its Throat in Spy Video

Right now, there's a variety of cool sports cars you can buy for not that much money, but Mercedes still thinks customers will want a hot hatch powertrain inside a four-door coupe. The setup for the CLA 35 is going to be very similar to the Audi S3 sedan, which will be its main rival.

We suspect the base CLA AMG model will cost about €40,000 in Europe, not including the fancy launch edition and all its goodies. And that makes us a little sad because there was a time when the hot hatch was un-premium. Think of the Golf GTI, Civic Type R or the Peugeot 205 GTi, which are opposites to this bad boy.

But Audi changed things with its RS3 money-maker, and about five years ago, Mercedes though "we'll have some of that" and made the A45 AMG. This is a watered down version of the original formula, offering only 306 horsepower and 400 Nm of torque. Sure, it will still hit 100 km/h in 5 seconds, but it won't provide the engagement of lift-off oversteer or handbrake turns. But we can't complain since the CLA 35 is in a class of its own thanks to the body style.

Inside, you'll get a car that can talk to you, able to play songs and direct you to the nearest beard groomer. Also, the CLA 35 will be more configurable than the old 45 model thanks to a drive mode selector. It's the sort of four-door coupe that flatters the keen driver and irons out his flaws with clever AWD that pre-engages. Also, Mercedes will promise good fuel economy and comfort, which are both things people now look for in a performance model.