Mercedes-Benz India continues to believe in performance brand AMG with their latest launch, which is an AMG on a gluten-free diet
All the German luxury brands have performance divisions; you have BMW’s famed “M” works and the Audi “RS” badge. Cars that come with the performance package, and not just the “go-faster” stripes and door sills, can be exhilarating to drive. But of all the full-bore brands, nothing comes close to Mercedes-AMG. That is possible because AMG did not begin as a part of Mercedes-Benz, and also possibly because Nico Rosberg just won Mercedes-AMG’s third Formula 1 driver’s title on the trot and the company is making the most dominant F1 racer since the heyday of Mclaren-Honda.
But, at the end of the day no matter how successful one is on the racetrack, what matters is how successful one is at the showroom. While you can buy full-bore utterly insane AMG cars such as the C63, E63 and AMG GT, the Stuttgart-based carmaker wants to democratise insanity. Then again, as recent events have shown, democracy is insane, but let us not delve into global politics here. like the ClA 45 AMG they introduced a couple of years ago, which gave you access to a car with over 350 horsepower for just over 70 lakhs. Unfortunately, during the recent refresh of the ClA, the AMG variant got dropped (although limited stocks of the pre-facelift ClA45 AMG are available at some dealers) but fear not because Mercedes-Benz India has brought in the C43 AMG for a shade under 75 lakhs (ex-showroom, around 85 lakhs on the road). And in most respects it is a lot better than the ClA45 AMG.
First and foremost, it is based on the new C-Class platform, so it is a lot bigger inside. Second, while the 45 AMG cars used a highly-boosted two-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, the 43 AMG cars, which are the C43 sedan and the SlC43 cabriolet, use a bigger V6 BiTurbo engine. Now the increased displacement does not really add a lot of power. Indeed the C43 has only 12 additional horsepower compared to the ClA45, but the power comes on a lot nicer and a lot lower down the rev range. The new car loses the manic whine of a highly turbocharged engine. It isn’t faster though because the ClA45 made it from 0-100 in 4.6 seconds but this car does it in 4.7 seconds. Yet, it can do so carrying four fully grown adults in comfort; the ClA’s limited rear legroom scores against it. And once past a hundred, the C43 seems to go faster. On the back straight of the Buddh International Circuit, this easily blows past 240 clicks, a bit more room and it could surely hit its top speed of 250.
But all is not hunky-dory with the C43 AMG, primarily because there is the utterly insane C63 AMG. Because that car has 510 horsepower and 700 Newton-metres of torque which can devour roads almost as fast as it eats tires, and it just loves going sideways. And like any other full-bore AMG out there, the C63, as long as you knew what on earth you were doing and realised that a car does not always need to point in the direction you steer it, put a massive smile on your face. It is just that the C63 AMG costs double that of a C43 AMG and while the C63 demands you know what the hell you are doing, the C43 is almost idiot-proof.
That is thanks to the very capable four-wheel drive system, which in this case is Mercedes’ 4MATIC system. The earlier ClA45 was also a four-wheel drive system, but only a “partial” system that only sent power to the rear-wheels if it sensed things were getting a bit out of hand. The C43 has a 31-69 bias between the front and rear and thus seems extremely well balanced through the corners. While driving through the midfield section of the Budhh International Circuit, it was almost impossible to push this car over its limits. I’m sure one can but the C43 holds the road and corners superbly. It feels like a genuinely capable car. And it is a good looking car as well, thanks to the fact that the C-Class is a good-looking car in the first place. But like most AMG cars, this remains a sort of chuppa rustam, it doesn’t advertise performance and the AMG touches on the outside are subtle. like the stunning 18-inch alloy wheels.
So should one buy thisIJ Frankly, the AMG cars are great fun and while the C43 lacks the degree of insanity of its sibling, it moves plenty fast and is surprisingly easy to drive. But it also doubles up as a usable sedan, and at this price-point there really isn’t much choice in this segment, although there is the Audi S5 but there is a model change due for that car shortly. So fast and fun and under a crore. Not too bad then.