2016 Mercedes-AMG A 45 Review | Pugnacious Performance And Power in Abundance
The title of 'most powerful hot hatch' goes to the Mercedes-AMG A 45, which packs a phenomenal 280kW. A veritable supercar among small hatch ranks.
Audi’s five-cylinder RS 3 wrested the title briefly from this car’s predecessor, but Mercedes-Benz responded by ramping-up the output of the fiery five-door to snatch the podium back.
So, with all the makings of a no-compromise race car under the bonnet, and the outward user-friendliness of a city-friendly hatchback, what is the A 45 really like? More to the point, could you live with its brattish manners?
Vehicle Style: High-performance prestige small hatch
Price: $77,900 (plus on-roads)
Engine/trans: 280kW/475Nm 2.0 turbo petrol 4cyl | 7-spd dual-clutch transmission
Fuel Economy claimed: 7.3 l/100km | tested: 10.6 l/100km
OVERVIEW
We’ve taken the Mercedes-AMG A 45 to a racetrack before - that’s where you learn all kinds of fantastic things about how a car will handle at the limits, with searing brake temperatures and a steady flow of equally-heated driver inputs.
But it doesn’t tell you much about how a car deals with speed humps, shopping centre carparks, trips to the office, and dropping the kids off at school. Let's face it, while the A 45 is a serious piece of performance equipment, it will still spend most of its life tied up in all the other mundane tasks that we ask of a car.