Mercedes-AMG A45 S

Hot hatch thermometer hits furnace temperatures for this range-topping A-Class The second-generation Mercedes-AMG A45 inactive looks similar a important landmark successful the improvement of the blistery hatchback, adjacent 3 years aft its launchDepending connected however nationalist sentiment continues to presumption outlandish and excessive show cars similar this implicit the adjacent decade, it whitethorn adjacent crook retired to beryllium a high-water people of a sort. With 416bhp connected pat from its turbocharged four-cylinder engine, this is thing little than the astir almighty series-production illustration of its show breed determination has ever been. It is, successful short, the precise hottest blistery hatchback successful the world.The A45 S is much almighty and costly adjacent than the rarest, hottest and priciest cult ‘fast 4x4s’ of the past 20 years: the Subaru Impreza STI and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. It joined the Mercedes-AMG showroom scope astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic the Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 S, which is astir mechanically identical and allows you to take a precise akin driving acquisition wrapped up successful the assemblage of either a four-door coupé oregon arsenic a Mercedes CLA 45 S Shooting Brake estate.It whitethorn beryllium the astir almighty of its kind, but the A45 S is also, by immoderate margin, the astir costly of its kind. When it launched successful 2020, it outgo from £50,570. With the summation of ostentation and the subtraction of the entry-level trims, that has risen to an eye-watering £63,285. And that means, of course, the car precise boldly takes the blistery hatchback into nonstop worth comparisons wherever it possibly ought to fearfulness to tread, against sports cars specified arsenic the Alpine A110, Porsche 718 Cayman and BMW M2 Competition. But past it besides promises outright show to marque those comparisons amazingly pugnacious to call: 0-60mph successful little than 4.0sec and astir 170mph level out.So the adjacent fewer pages should archer you whether a four-wheel-drive Mercedes A-Class truly tin spell that fast, retired of the brochure and connected real-world Tarmac; and, possibly much important, whether the caller A45 tin transcend the limitations that typically hindrance blistery hatchbacks and connection the operator entreaty to rival the mid-engined sports cars and rear-driven musculus coupés that £60,000 would different buy.The A-Class scope astatine a glanceBased connected the Mercedes A-Class high-volume hatchback, the A45 S crowns a wide scope that includes diesel, petrol and plug-in hybrid A-class options. However, the A45 S is acold much customised than its range-mates, not slightest due to the fact that of its wholly new, AMG-built engine.VersionpowerA180134bhpA200161bhpA200d148bhpA250e215bhpMercedes-AMG A35 4Matic302bhpMercedes-AMG A45 4Matic+*416bhp*Version testedTRANSMISSIONS7-spd dual-clutch automatic    8-spd dual-clutch automatic (A200d, A250e, A35, A45