Mercedes-AMG A45 S review

The AMG A45 doesn’t really need the Mercedes-Benz badge at the front.

Everyone knows it’s a Merc, but with those three letters – and, let’s be honest, the two numbers – everyone knows they’re in for a good time.

While the first generation was popular with a certain crowd for its theatrics, it wasn’t that great a car to drive. It was good but it wasn’t great. I once weathered a particularly nasty week of comments after I suggested the driver of a late, lamented BMW M140i was having more fun.

But the second generation of the fawty-fie changed the game. It still extracts colossal power from a small engine and still looks like a hatchback kitted up by someone of slightly dubious taste. Yet a thorough reworking of the driving dynamics means it suddenly becomes fun as well as fast.

A few years later and with a scorching price tag and electrification looming, the A45’s legacy will rest on this car. Let’s see if it will be a good one.

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JUMP AHEAD

• How much is it, and what do you get?
• How do rivals compare on value?
• Interior comfort, space and storage
• What is it like to drive?
• How is it on fuel?
• How safe is it?
• Warranty and running costs
• VERDICT
• Specifications

How much is it, and what do you get?

When this car first arrived with its terrifying price tag, we kind of thought Mercedes had lost the plot.

In the general context of 2020, that was to be expected, but when a hatchback’s price tag starts with a nine – 310kW notwithstanding – questions had to be asked.

But the AMG A45 S is now a whopping $106,900 before on-road costs and we barely blinked because, well, all this stuff has happened.

That’s a lot of money for any car but I guess that’s where we are – stuff is hugely expensive at the moment and an already expensive car was only going to get, er, expensiver.

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Even after slapping you about with a price north of $100k, your Mercedes dealer will have the cheek to ask you for another $1190 for metallic paint. To make absolutely sure, the bright yellow car you see here is one of just three freebies which also include white and black. The Patagonia Red Bright is $1990.

You can also spend a further $5790 on the AMG Performance Package, which adds a very spicy set of front seats that are far more comfortable than the old ones, the very silly aero bits on the outside, and louder exhaust noise in the cabin. You don’t need to worry about any of that; the car goes very fast without it. 

Except those seats are excellent and they were fitted to the car I had, so it is with a heavy heart I tell you that it’s probably worth the extra just for them.

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How do rivals compare on value?

If you’re looking for a like-for-like as far as rivals go, it’s the Audi RS3 or nothing.

It’s the only one with anything like the power and attitude and it’s a solid $15,000 cheaper for the hatch at $91,400. It’s a ripper of a car, with that tuneful – though quietened – five-cylinder and a newly-sorted chassis.

It also comes in a very loud yellow.

Stretching things a little will take you to BMW’s M240i. All-wheel drive, challenging to look at (and to sit in the back seat), it’s got a deeper-breathing 285kW straight-six turbo and is slightly slower to 100km/h than its German rivals but has that BMW balance.

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Interior comfort, space and storage

The A-Class has never been a paragon of spaciousness and nor has it always lived up to the reputation of its maker for interior loveliness.

It has a bit much piano black inside and unfortunately, it looks cheap. This is somewhat redeemed by Mercedes’ excellent MBUX twin-screen setup, which projects an image of cutting-edge technology and therefore a bit of a halo of niceness.

The optional front seats are tight-fitting buckets and I love them. They look fantastic and hold you in when you’re going for it so you can get on with the job of twirling the equally lovely Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel.

Piano black aside, some of the switchgear is a bit cheap or scratchy, but the overall impression, especially at night with the cabin lit up with the coloured LED lighting, it’s very nice indeed.

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Front passengers share a pair of cup holders, a wireless charging pad, a USB-C port under the HVAC controls and two more in the useful but small under-elbow bin.

The rear seat isn’t much to write home about, but that’s hardly uncommon in either the A-Class or the segment as a whole. The centre rear armrest folds down to reveal a pair of cup holders and all four doors have door pockets of variable usefulness.

Headroom in the back is fine but the seats could be a little better shaped given the purpose of the car. It might even be worth AMG turfing the middle seatbelt and making the rear seats more bucket-like.

Behind the hatch is a surprisingly large-looking boot with a reasonable 370 litres to start with and a pretty good 1210 litres with the seats folded away.

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What is it like to drive?

One of the other headline figures of this car is the weight – a portly 1635kg at the kerb, which is mid-size SUV levels of heft. Does it feel like that? Not a bit.

Achieving the feeling that it weighs considerably less takes a bit of doing, but AMG’s hoongineers have done it. It used to be that performance cars had pointlessly meaty steering but with the advent of electric assistance, several brands seem to have decided that lighter steering is better.

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Probably my main criticism is that the A45's steering isn’t overly communicative, but I’ll take sensible weight any day.

The driveline absolutely dominated the old car but here it’s more part of the ensemble. That’s saying something because, with a staggering 310kW from the 2.0-litre M139 (just check out the size of the turbo) and a colossal 500Nm, it could have just been the same thing all over again.

In a way, the fact it’s a bit less obnoxiously and gloriously loud probably helps make it feel more coherently put together as a package.

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On the road and in Comfort mode, it’s very well-mannered for a machine capable of such big numbers. One of the things I love about the A45 is the Manettino-style dial on the steering wheel for quickly switching between modes.

Why there are so many modes is anyone’s guess because not only do you have Sport, Sport+, Individual and Race, you can individually select suspension and exhaust modes with the console-mounted buttons.

Although it's kind of odd, who am I to deny owners a chance to really fiddle about with their settings?

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I basically switch between Comfort and Race because life’s too short for halfway (unless it’s wet). Race is just brilliant and is what makes this car great where the old one wasn’t. It becomes an absolute weapon on the road, with the neutrality of the lower modes giving way to a far more adjustable and tail-happy attitude.

That translates to a lot more fun in the twisty stuff because you’re not just hanging on like in the old car. You may not be going a lot faster, but you’re having more fun doing it, which is more in AMG’s wheelhouse.

A C63 is sideways a lot more often than an Audi RS4 or even a rear-wheel drive M3, so it was always a bit odd that the old A45 felt more like a small GT-R that went a bit hard on the baked beans.

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And the thing about Race is that the ride comfort holds on. Some M cars lose the plot on bumps and lumps but even with 19-inch wheels and a short wheelbase, the A45 never descends into anarchy. It’s not wafty, obviously, but it’s not uncomfortable.

With huge, effective brakes and a super-sharp eight-speed transmission that cheerfully takes its orders from either its own well-tuned electronic brain or your paddle shifts, you really are having a great time even when commuting.

The positivity of the steering, reacting to your inputs at just the right rate, caps the whole thing off. It’s tremendous fun.

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How is it on fuel?

As you might expect, with just a 2.0-litre engine and a rolling road, the official ADR figure is perhaps deceptively low – but I don’t need to tell you that.

It’s hardly a secret that it doesn’t really work for a car like this.

Having said that, with some care, I reckon mid-nines per 100km is more than doable if you drive it sensibly. But where’s the fun in that?

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How safe is it?

The AMG A45 S has an ANCAP safety rating dating back to 2019, with a maximum of five stars to its name.

I think it’s not unreasonable to expect reverse auto emergency braking in a car of this price so it’s a bit of a disappointing omission and the forward AEB should probably be a little more broadly talented too.

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Warranty and running costs

Mercedes offers a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty on the A45, which is pretty good given they already know how hard these cars are used by some owners.

You also get a choice of pre-paid servicing plans costing from $3600 for three years. Four years is $4450 and five years $5150.

As you can see, you start at an average of $1200 per year and fall to $1050 with the longer package. This is no Toyota, then, but maintenance intervals are a surprising 12 months or 20,000km, which is impressive for such a high-performing turbo four.

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VERDICT

I said in the introduction that electrification is looming. I don’t have an inside line; that’s a broad comment supported by the C63’s hybrid rebirth with this car’s engine at its heart.

And boy has that upset a few people who will have forgotten all about it in six to twelve months.

Like it or not, the next A45 is going to be partly or fully electric, if indeed we get another one. So this is the line in the sand before we step over into that bold new world.

A turbo four has no right to be this powerful and charismatic, the chassis is so much more interested in fun and, finally, more than matches the theatrics.

So yes, the latest A45 has a legacy to be proud of – not least because it has become an organ donor to a new kind of C63, as well as what will be the last petrol-powered Lotus sportscar – the Emira.

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2022 Mercedes-AMG A45 S specifications

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