A45AMG issues?

[CorvetteConvert]

The press seem to love the (pretty astonishing for a 1991cc engine) performance, but criticise three things in general.
Dire ride quality. Turbo lag. Gearbox fussiness and ability to do what you want it to do.
Could anyone who has put a decent number of miles on one of these cars let me know your views of these three issues?
Thanks.

[nightSpirit]

I have a 220 cdi (similar box) and yes it's smooth imo but slow to react on the paddles...also on track it can refuse to down shift but tbh, I have little issue with it overall and on track it still produced the goods for me. Other systems might be faster and more willing but is it bad enough to detract from the experience? No.

[ecain63]

CorvetteConvert said:

The press seem to love the (pretty astonishing for a 1991cc engine) performance, but criticise three things in general.
Dire ride quality. Turbo lag. Gearbox fussiness and ability to do what you want it to do.
Could anyone who has put a decent number of miles on one of these cars let me know your views of these three issues?
Thanks.

I have an A45 with 6k miles on it.

Ride quality is fine. Much better than the PPP C63 it replaced. Obviously if you spec the AMG upgrade suspension it will be hard and crashy but the standard setup is just fine for uk roads. What do you expect from a little hot hatch? I have the 19" wheels and they are fine. The 18"s will be even more comfy on the road.

Turbo lag? Its only minor if at all. It is a modern turbo engine and in no way comparable to the laggy lumps of old. This is a very clever little motor, which is why it is becoming a much loved ride. The press just love to hate the little upstart!! Put it to the test and it will please all day long.

My car (July 14) has the latest gearbox software (early ones were a little skittish by all accounts) and I have no issue with it. I drive in manual mode all the time using paddles so never have to rely on box to do anything i haven't asked of it. In my opinion it's one of the best boxes you can get if you treat it like a manual. It's quick, responsive and easy to use. Everybody hated the gearbox in the E60 M5 when it first came out. People treated it like a slush box auto and it behaved badly in this role. Then people who liked cars bought them and drove them as they were designed, that sure changed the opinions on the internet. Driven properly it was a pleasure to live with!

[WhiteAMG45]

Go for a test drive.
I went for two before I bought mine I went for the standard 18 wheels
I have had mine for a month and I am well pleased with it.
No issues with ride or gearbox

[b0rk]

I'd say the suspension is more compliant than a new S3 for example it certainly isn't the hardest hatch out their currently in this respect.

Turbo lag? Don't use comfort / comfort eco as it makes the box completely and utterly lazy to upshift. MB really need to sort this by introducing proper driver configurable modes with the car remembering the mode. Sport and Manual are perfectly acceptable in terms of turbo lag.

Latest post summer '14 gearbox sw has basically cured the early review complaints of the box not being willing to down-shift on demand.

If you are interested find a dealer with a demo and request a test drive.

[EifelSL]

I bought an A45 December 2013. My fourth AMG. It cost £42,000. As I dont use the car much as I've now retired so I've decided to sell it.
This morning I was offered £26,000 for the car by Mercedes Brooklands. I can't take that sort of depreciasion so I'll try and sell it through PH.
Don't buy one buy a Golf R.

[Driver101]

EifelSL said:

I bought an A45 December 2013. My fourth AMG. It cost £42,000. As I dont use the car much as I've now retired so I've decided to sell it.
This morning I was offered £26,000 for the car by Mercedes Brooklands. I can't take that sort of depreciasion so I'll try and sell it through PH.
Don't buy one buy a Golf R.

That seems a very low ball offer.

I was looking at them at the dealer today and the cheapest was £35k. I know they have to make profit, but that's too much for a 18 month old car.

What are they like to live with long term?

[ecain63]

Driver101 said:

EifelSL said:

I bought an A45 December 2013. My fourth AMG. It cost £42,000. As I dont use the car much as I've now retired so I've decided to sell it.
This morning I was offered £26,000 for the car by Mercedes Brooklands. I can't take that sort of depreciasion so I'll try and sell it through PH.
Don't buy one buy a Golf R.

That seems a very low ball offer.

I was looking at them at the dealer today and the cheapest was £35k. I know they have to make profit, but that's too much for a 18 month old car.

What are they like to live with long term?

I was offered £29k to £32k by dealers. My car was 6 months old and only had 5k mikles (list just short of £50k)! I did get a better offer of £35k through a friend but the market is saturated with 0 mile, 0 owner cars that won't shift (MB made all dealers tax and register 14 plates last year and there are loads unsold. Prices have been stung as a result. This was never the plan. Any dealer will tell you that the A45 was to be a trickle feed model deigned for good residuals. Then MB changed the game plan!!

[ecain63]

Worth keeping mine for these figures. Now running Rebellion Stage 2 hardware!!








Pic courtesy of 'Thedoggingfather' aka 'shot in the dark'!