Mercedes-AMG A 35 4Matic; VW Golf GTI TCR review: too close to call

For the first time in 30 years of road-testing, this one is too close to call.

VW Golf GTI TCR, from about $55,000

There’s a chap I know who likes to play tricks on his wife while they’re out doing retail therapy. He lets her enter the clothes shop first and then says in a high-pitched voice, “Look at me!” before ducking quickly out of sight. Of course, all the shop assistants look up and there, on her own, is this poor woman, stammering about how she “didn’t say that”. She finds this very annoying, apparently.

The funny thing is, though, that if you think about it, people do want to be looked at. When someone posts a picture or a witticism on social media, they are hungry for an immediate and global pat on the back. When someone buys a new pair of shoes, they want strangers in the street to feel envy. I’m surprised everyone doesn’t say “Look at me” when they enter a shop because, actually, it’s what we all want.

It’s the same story with cars. If you go home with a new one it’s nice when the neighbour’s curtains twitch. And that’s been a problem for the VW Golf GTI. Something about the first incarnation caused even the most dedicated motoring dunderhead to know it was special. The way it sat on the road, the alloy wheels, the black window surround at the back and the red stripe round the front grille. It raised eyebrows. But since then the GTI has always been virtually indistinguishable from lesser models. Perhaps that’s why its appeal faded; because at heart, everyone wants to be a tall poppy.

Well, that’s certainly been addressed by the latest version, the TCR, which arrived at my house sporting a chequerboard paint job on the sides and both a roof spoiler and a big rear diffuser. This thing stood out from the rest of the Golf range in the same way that Brad Pitt would stand out in an am-dram performance of The Winslow Boy.

I like the Golf GTI. I ran a Mk 7 for a couple of years and still maintain that, all things considered, it’s one of the best cars yet made. You may think that the Volkswagen Group puts its best brains and best engineers into Bugatti or Bentley, but the truth is, it doesn’t. The real boffins work on the bread that pays for the jam. They work on the Golf. When you drive it, and concentrate, you can tell.

Mercedes-AMG A 35 4Matic, $60,000-$70,000

Mercedes-AMG A 35 4Matic

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol (225kW/400Nm)

Average fuel 7.4 litres per 100km

Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, all-wheel drive

Price: $60-$70,000 (est); in Australia later this year

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The TCR has been built to celebrate VW’s successes in touring car racing. That’s the official reason. Unofficially, it’s been built to inject a slightly ageing car with a bit of appeal before the Mk 8 Golf comes along later this year. But don’t think it’s just a few stickers and spoiler. It’s not. Power from the 2-litre turbo engine is upped from 180kW to 213kW, it has bigger brakes and two more radiators to keep everything cool, and one option allows the 250km/h limiter to be removed, so the TCR can hit 264km/h.

It’s a fabulous car. It’s like a GTI but sharper somehow, more pointy. And when you put your foot down gently, it makes the sort of noise I suspect Yoda hears when there’s a disturbance in the Force. It’s the low-down hum of menace and power. Yet the TCR never feels raucous or mad. It just feels sublime. There is, however, a problem. It’s called the Mercedes-AMG A 35 4Matic.

This is the entry-level AMG model, a Golf-sized car that arrived at my house with look-at-me matt paintwork, a rear diffuser, a big flash grille and the same sort of engine you get in the VW – only here, it chucks out a monstrous 225kW. Perhaps that’s why the AMG gets four-wheel-drive. Because it needs it. This thing flies. It’s a mad ride, full of jolts and judders, and properly exciting.

It’s an exciting place to sit, too. The Golf is all a bit Golfish, whereas inside the little AMG it feels special. There’s one long glass instrument panel on which everything important is presented, with starship-engine intakes posing as air vents. Oh, and to issue a voice command you simply say, “Hey, Mercedes,” which, I’m told, is very woke.

The AMG is up there with the offerings from Renault and Hyundai as a road-going track rocket, but unlike those cars it is German and feels it. Rarely do you notice four-wheel drive on a dry road but in the A 35 you really do.

So which would I choose? It’s tricky. The Golf is the priciest house in the street. The A-class, though, is a small flat in the best location. And that, as any estate agent will tell you, is the way to go.

But, that said, the A-class is a car that started out in life as a failed electric project and fell over in the famous “elk” test featuring a swerving manoeuvre. So you can’t really make a decision based on history and tradition. I certainly can’t, as in my life I’ve had three VWs and three AMG models.

It’s hard to make a decision based on space or boot size, either. Or comfort. The Golf has a superior ride at low speed but when you get going, the Mercedes is better. And then there’s a question of price. The Golf starts at about $55,000, the Mercedes slightly more.

I have to say that it was damn good fun, on the roads near where I live, trying to pick a winner. But the truth is that for the first time in 30 years of road-testing, I cannot.

VW Golf GTI TCR

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol (213kW/380Nm)

Average fuel 6.7 litres per 100km

Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, front-wheel drive

Price: From about $55,000; in Australia later this year

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars