Some time in the week, I got an invitation by an old friend, Adrian Wong who is also a product expert at Hap Seng Star. I was told about an event held by Hap Seng Star where patrons have a privilege to take an exclusive look and test ride with a few Mercedes Benz AMG cars. This event will be held at Mercedes Benz Autohaus that is located at Jalan Sultan Ismail in downtown Kuala Lumpur from the 10th to the 12th of March 2017. At this event, the public will get to be up close to the AMG GTS, the C63 Coupe, CLA45 and GLA45 respectively.
On this weekday afternoon, Adrian not only contacted me to notify about the event. He was also nice enough to let me experience a couple of the AMG cars myself. Of course, we got to shoot them in the process.
It starts off with two pretty familiar cars. Those who have been closely following our posts, you will see we occasionally post up photos of the A45 and CLA45. One A45 which was equipped with a Varis aerokit has also been featured on our humble website.
For this time around, we decided to take the CLA45 out to the city streets. First impression of the cockpit was pretty flattering with all the chrome and leather. Now to be straight forward, I personally feel more at home in more analog cars so it took me a while to get use to the gadgets and safety features of the car. One in particular where the vehicle will shift to Park automatically whenever a door is open.
Driving in the bumpy city streets of Kuala Lumpur, I found the ride to be a bit more comfortable compared to the A45 and forward visibility is excellent. Though there are a couple of things that is not really at my favour. One where the turn signals and the wipers are on one single stock behind the steering wheel when they are usually separate. This may or may not be something the driver need to adjust to. Another thing is the seating. The bucket seat back support is excellent but it becomes a bit awkward with the high cushion on the bottom despite being at its lowest height adjustment. But of course, I would be cruel not to mention about the instant torque this car has which can be very useful when driving in stop-go traffic and in inner-city highways.
The next car that we tested was the Mercedes Benz AMG GTS coupe. One of the first things that I saw on the car was how long the front hood was. Under that long hood sits the M178 motor which is a 4 liter twin turbo V8 which makes just above 500 horsepower and 479 lb ft of torque. The power is sent directly to the rear wheels via a 7 speed dual clutch gearbox.
When I was told that I will be given an opportunity to drive the AMG GTS, it took me a while to soak it in. It is not that I haven't driven a 500 horsepower car before, but that other car was a 4 wheel drive with a manual transmission. The AMG GTS however was a different animal.
Being behind the wheel of the AMG GTS, the thing that I instantly love about this car was the near perfect seating ergonomics. The seat felt like a proper bucket seat which will keep you pinned during cornering. When it comes to visibility, as a driver, it would be advisable to be careful with the front end of the car due to it's long hood but other than that, visibility is very good. Another thing that I love about the AMG GTS is the pull from the twin turbo V8. It gives such a rush that it engages a kind of fight or flight response. If I were given an AMG GTS to be driven for long distances, I would gladly take that car on a long haul, no questions asked.
After an afternoon well spent, I would like to give a big thank you to Adrian Wong from Hap Seng Star for giving the opportunity to get a feel of these fine machines. For those who wants to see these cars up close, an event will be held at Mercedes Benz Autohaus in Kuala Lumpur starting on the 10th to the 12th March 2017 from 10am to 4pm. For more info, feel free to contact Adrian Wong at 03-21169228 or 0122812188.
Mercedes Benz AMG & Dream Cars
Venue : Mercedes Benz Autohaus
15, Jalan Sultan Ismail,
50250, Kuala Lumpur.
Date : 10th to 12th March 2017
Time : 10:00am to 4:00pm
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