Mercedes A 45 AMG

MENTION AMG and petrolheads glaze over as they day dream about the roar of eight or twelve cylinders and rear tyres disintegrating in a cloud of white smoke.

Power: 360bhp and 332lb.ft. of torque

Performance: 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds and 155mph

Economy: 40.9mpg (combined)

CO2 emissions: 161g/km

Price: £38,190

As Mercedes blows away its F1 opposition following rule changes which ushered in turbocharging and reduced engine capacity for 2014, so its renowned Affalterbach-based tuning arm has dropped a comparably small, forced induction, four-cylinder motor under the bonnet of its latest creation.

This is no normal four-pot turbo, though. An ability to produce 360bhp from its two-litre capacity means that this hand-built powerplant has the greatest power-per-litre ratio of any series production motor, along with a side order of 332lb.ft. of torque.

All that grunt is channelled to the tarmac via a seven-speed, dual-clutch gearbox and intelligent four-wheel-drive system squeezed into the compact bodywork of the A-Class hatchback.

A drum roll please, for the big-hitting A 45 AMG...

At £38,190 the A 45 aligns itself most closely to the Audi’s 335bhp RS 3, but its limited-run production sold out in record-quick time last year. Which leaves BMW’s 320bhp 135i (£32,865), Audi’s 296bhp S3 Sportback (£32,740) and the identically-engined 296bhp Volkswagen Golf R (£31,970).

In sheer performance terms, however, none of the above would see which way the A 45 went.

The raw numbers tell us that it will accelerate to 62mph in 4.6 seconds and on to an electronically limited 155mph. It feels more brutal than that.

Flexing your right ankle provokes the kind of relentless surge of acceleration which smear a smile across a driver’s face and can provoke mild terror in the eyes of passengers.

Down a narrow country road, such explosive urge feels ferocious.

Four-wheel-drive traction and the A-Class’ compact dimensions mean that the full width of the road can be utilised as the car punches its way between corners on a wave of turbocharged power and torque.

The AMG SPEEDSHIFT gearbox fitted to the A 45 is a world away from the 7G-TRONIC system fitted to most Mercedes products.

That system’s occasionally annoying predilection for high gears and economical driving is replaced by a far greater feeling of mechanical connection.

AMG SPEEDSHIFT manages to be no less smooth or refined at low speeds but offers a dose more control — especially in its in Sport or Manual modes — and hammers home gear-shifts with staggeringly efficiency.

Equally efficient are ventilated 350mm front and 320mm rear brake discs.

Speed is, without doubt, the show piece of the A 45.

However, I’ve previously criticised Audi’s S3 for its pre-occupation with pace over poise and dynamic entertainment and there are parallels to be drawn between that four-wheel-drive hatchback and the A 45.

Under most circumstances this is a front-wheel-drive car, with Mercedes’ 4MATIC all-wheel-drive shuffling up to 50 per cent of power to the rear axle if a lack of traction is detected.

Traction is seemingly unbreakable in the dry, but AMG’s trademark power-slides are well off the menu and the car assumes a neutral to understeering stance which feels fast and safe but lacking in playfulness.

A prior engagement with Top Gear had resulted in my test car wearing worn rear tyres, but it remained difficult to provoke the rear end into relinquishing grip in the name of fun.

The sheer intensity of the A 45 means that the (relative) safety net of understeer was a welcome default, however. Little short of a Nissan GT-R would shake it off on the average B-road.

Some of the A 45’s appeal lies in its subtle styling.

It may hunker closer to the tarmac than its regular stablemates but it would take a keen eye to pick up on the more aggressive bumpers, side skirts, angular twin exhausts and lightweight 18-inch alloy wheels housing those huge brakes.

Mercedes did a fantastic job of the standard A-Class interior and the A 45 has some additional highlights.

An array of jet engine-style air vents, a heavily textured carbon effect dashboard and the sat-nav and stereo screen mounted like a tablet above all look great and are embellished with red trim, red seatbelts and leather upholstery with red stitching.

But taking centre stage are a pair of excellent sports seats and the work of aluminium art that is a gear selector transferred from the SLS AMG, its top embossed with AMG’s Affalterbach crest.

Broad A and C-pillars create some sizable blind spots for a driver, but otherwise the interior is a peach.

Five doors, a 341-litre boot and barely believable claimed fuel consumption and CO2 emissions figures of 40.9mpg and 161g/km even lend the A 45 a modicum of practicality.

Take into account that my test car’s options list saw the price soar to over £51,000, though, and there is no doubt that this is a car that will appeal to a very particular audience.

That audience will be looking for the ultimate fast hatchback.

It may lack a little dynamic depth, the ability to entertain with the accessible character at low speeds or to smoke its rear tyres like other AMG products, but it is certainly that...and an explosive hatchback debut for AMG.

 

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