RE: Mercedes A45 AMG: Review

RE: Mercedes A45 AMG: Review

Monday 8th July 2013

2013 Mercedes-AMG A45 | UK Review

Chris Harris tests the AMG 'mega hatch' where it matters - on UK roads



Well, they certainly stuck to their guns. Almost exactly a year ago I watched a heavily disguised A45 AMG fire its way up a Swabian hillside and couldn’t quite believe how loud the exhaust bangs were on each upshift. Several months later I asked the man from AMG whether these would make it into the full production specification, assuming that they would not. He insisted they would.

Read our Mercedes-AMG A45 facelift review

Given the company’s recent track record of vehicular noise, and the quality thereof, I really shouldn’t have ever doubted them. I would like to say that the A45, driven with the automatic gearbox in manual mode and using all the available engine revs, sounds like a racing car. But given the increasingly stringent race-track noise limits in the UK I think that the comparison is unfair. The A45 sounds better than any BTCC machine.

It’s probably a good deal faster in a straight line too. With 360hp and 332lb ft pulling 1,555kg it always feels very potent, but the power delivery is something of a surprise. Peak torque arrives at 2,250rpm and plateaus until 5,000rpm, but peak power isn’t produced until 6,000rpm. On the road this equates to vast, low effort performance for overtaking, but leaves a delicious kick at the top end. The way the motor revs beyond 5,000rpm and delivers a decisive extra surge that moves it into a performance category beyond even the RS3 and M135i is unexpected. It’s urgent, free-revving and at those high engine speeds doesn’t feel in any way turbocharged.


The noise is unspectacular when you’re not trying, but it’s never harsh. Mechanical refinement is good, but you get the feeling that AMG felt the need to allow a low-level fizz to be transmitted from the engine block to the bodyshell. Curiously, and much like the best Honda VTEC installations, the A45’s powertrain is smoother and much more musical further up the rev range.

The gearbox is an all-new AMG developed seven-speed double clutch unit and, like the motor it has been tested to destruction by machine and engineers. AMG always seems to be completely out of sync with the rest of the world when it comes to transmissions. Five years ago when the world was going dotty for dual clutch systems, AMG gave us a seven-speed wet clutch automatic, which was rather impressive. In fact I suspect its robustness and usability in fast cars probably strongly influenced the brilliant new ZF eight-speed auto ‘box which has quickly established itself as the new benchmark over dual-clutch alternatives in everything from luxo-saloons down to the little M135i. So, everyone now wakes up to the possibilities of a fully automatic transmission, whereupon Merc gives us a dual-clutcher.

It’s a very good effort, not quite the fastest or most incisive ‘box out there, but it is pretty damn good. In auto mode it’s utterly painless and uses the torque curve with great efficiency to help return well over 30mpg when you’re tootling along. I found it a bit frustrating that you could override the auto mode with a quick paddle flick, but couldn’t send it back into auto without fiddling with the mode switch by the gearlever. In other Mercs you just pull the up paddle beyond seventh and it re-selects D. Small point, but it would irritate me over a year’s driving.


Perhaps the biggest question hanging over the A45 was the potential contamination of any kind of chassis enjoyment by the evil that is called Haldex. Yes, the same 4WD system that has blighted VW products with understeer lurks under the skin of this car. On the road, the car neither under nor oversteers. It just demolishes anything in its way. The ride is firm, in fact it tippy-toes right on the edge of what is acceptable in town and at low speed, but then it rewards you as you travel faster. The quality of the damping shines through, it remains flat but doesn’t get deflected and the payback for the firmness is an agility that must render the A45 one of the faster point-to-pointers on sale. Certainly, on a mixture of A- and B-roads a C63 wouldn’t see where it had gone. Nor would anything in that class. Torque, traction, grip, dimensions, no deflections, no understeer; the A45 is perhaps the perfect road recipe. And that’s before it rains.

On the track it is miles more fun than an RS3. Provoke it harshly and the rear axle will begin to rotate, but it never feels like it’s rear-wheel drive. It also never feels like, say, a Mitsubishi EVO with its insane turn-in and instant oversteer. But it’s fun and very effective, helped enormously by electric power steering that is bettered only by the new GT3’s system for weight and sense of connection and a truly brilliant brake pedal. Can’t remember the last time I had such confidence in road car brakes.

Some people think the cabin is too chintzy; I don’t. The new electrically adjustable Recaros are superb, the wheel is standard issue AMG, as is the snazzy gear selector. They’ve done a good job covering as much of the ordinary A-Class undergarments as possible, although the hard plastics down by the centre armrest are pretty nasty. And of course the electric handbrake is utterly hateful. Then again, once you’re used to it, the way you can open the driver’s door to trigger the gearbox into Park is a stroke of genius for everyday use. Until you’re accustomed to it, that is – up until this point you might head-butt the steering wheel.


So it’s great fun to drive, indecently fast, sounds good under duress and is laden with standard equipment – but is it really worth £37,845? Not if you’re making the usual PH comparisons with used M3s and the like. But the world doesn’t always work like that. Factor in a decent finance deal (ducks) or people who just want something discreet, effing fast and untouched by another’s bottom and it doesn’t look too pricey to me.

Of course you can go loopy with the extras list. The car I drive had carbon exterior mirror housings for a mere £1,230. The Comand sat-nav thing is a silly £2,100. Then again, to drag an M135i up to a similar spec as the A45 reduces the price difference considerably. I shall do this when we release the twin-test video in a few weeks.

No, the lingering impression here is of a car with immense talent and much to offer many people. I just wish AMG had been given free rein to add some wider arches and give the car some more, well, stance. The RS3 is trounced by this car in just about every department of driving dynamics, but Audi knows how to sell cars and those wide arches and suggestive ride height are showroom gold. From the rear three-quarter the A45 does have some menace to it, but in your rear view mirror it is quite innocuous looking. That will endear it to those looking for subtlety, but I suspect they’re in the minority in this marketplace.

Otherwise, I thought the A45 was mostly brilliant.


SPECIFICATION | 2013 MERCEDES-AMG A45
Engine:
 1,991cc 4-cyl turbo
Transmission: 7-speed dual clutch auto, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 360@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 332@2,250-5,000rpm
0-62mph: 4.6 seconds
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
Weight: 1,555kg
MPG: 40.9 (NEDC combined)
CO2: 161g/km
Price: £37,845



Author
Discussion

Lowtimer

Original Poster:

4,286 posts

167 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
It sounds as if by both the numbers and the driving experience this is objectively a very good car. But I'm still not sure I know who the target buyer is. Swerving around the futile used-car vs new-car price comparisons, I know an lot of people who spend decent money on new nice-to-drive cars, and I can't think of any one of them who looks like a target for this, i.e. waking up to the view that what they need in their life is to spend £40K on a blindingly fast five-door two-pedal hatchback of questionable looks.

Put another way, there's obviously a lot of good components in here, and technically they all work together well, but where's the emotional desirability?

toppstuff

13,698 posts

246 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
Great effort by MB here.

I would take this over any Audi every day of the week including Sundays.


kambites

67,462 posts

220 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
Interesting to hear that AMG have managed to take a thoroughly underwhelming recipe and make such a good car out of it.

Rawwr

22,722 posts

233 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
Lowtimer said:
It sounds as if by both the numbers and the driving experience this is objectively a very good car. But I'm still not sure I know who the target buyer is. Swerving around the futile used-car vs new-car price comparisons, I know an lot of people who spend decent money on new nice-to-drive cars, and I can't think of any one of them who looks like a target for this, i.e. waking up to the view that what they need in their life is to spend £40K on a blindingly fast five-door two-pedal hatchback of questionable looks.
Same type of people who bought the RS3, I suspect.

Lowtimer

Original Poster:

4,286 posts

167 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
Rawwr said:
Same type of people who bought the RS3, I suspect.
You might be right. I don't know who they were, either. I don't think I've ever actually seen one on the roads.

Cotic

469 posts

151 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
Doesn't the gearbox shift into 'D' by just holding the up-shift trigger? The 8-speed ZF does this in JLR products...

pilchardthecat

7,483 posts

178 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
I confess I tempted by one of these for my daily hack, if i ever get around to replacing the Z4M

I have a real choice to make between one of these and a 7-8 year old 997.1 Turbo, so the new/used comparison is entirely valid. The running costs and practicality vs. "done" depreciation, higher running costs. Obviously the 911 is a lot more special but do i want one for a 60-mile-day every day commute.....

This internal debate will probably end as is always does, with me keeping the Z4M for another year. Procrastination.

g3org3y

20,606 posts

190 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
In recent years I feel that AMG have "out-M'd" the M division. Some properly lairy (and super sounding) cars coming out of their factory of late. Merc back on form imo.

The interesting comparison is if/when the new proper 1M coupe/hatch is released. Do we have any details about this or whether it's going to go ahead. (M2 anyone???)

Edited by g3org3y on Monday 8th July 14:24

paulmon

2,127 posts

240 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
I think its reasonably good value. A good comparison is the EVO IX 360 MR price when new 6 years ago was £36K. This is as fast, better equipped, more economical, easier to live with and dare I say it better looking (runs for cover).

Manufacturers (BMW in particular) should be applauded for keeping the prices in this segment at reasonable levels when they could have spiralled out control. I believe if BMW hadn't have priced the M135 so keenly then the starting price for this car would have been well over £40K.

P

Lowtimer

Original Poster:

4,286 posts

167 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
pilchardthecat said:
I have a real choice to make between one of these and a 7-8 year old 997.1 Turbo, so the new/used comparison is entirely valid.
Yes, for someone who like you is making a genuine choice of where to buy £38k or £40K, then the comparison is entirely valid. It's only futile when people suggest "new car X" is wrongly priced because you can buy "used car Y" for the same / less money.

Schnellmann

1,893 posts

203 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
Having recently driven the A45 my take on it was a bit different. As Chris notes, it is effing quick in a straight line and around the bends. But my test route took in a fair amount of town driving and motorway too and the A45 didn't cope as well there (IMO of course). I thought around town it suffered a fair deal from turbo lag, the ride wasn't that comfy and the noise from the exhaust too showy (at first I wondered whether the exhaust was falling off or whether there was something wrong with the back axle because of the banging).

I think whether you choose this or the M135i will really depend upon what you are looking for in a car. If you want the ultimate hot hatch and spend lots of time in maximum attack mode over A and B roads then I can see the appeal of the A45. If you want a shrunken M3, which feels much more mature and refined and a more pleasant place to be the rest of time I suspect you would choose the BMW (which we did).

Ozzie Osmond

21,189 posts

245 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
"is it really worth £37,845?"

In your dreams. It's nearly double the price of a base A-class. yikes

Escort Si-130

3,270 posts

179 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
+1

toppstuff said:
Great effort by MB here.

I would take this over any Audi every day of the week including Sundays.

moskvich427

227 posts

174 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
Ozzie Osmond said:
"is it really worth £37,845?"

In your dreams. It's nearly double the price of a base A-class. yikes
Yes, but they're hardly comparable are they?

I think that for the performance and compared to other AMG products, this is actually a bit of a bargain.

Looking forward to the video biggrin

CJP80

1,091 posts

147 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
Is this 1555kg DIN weight or EC? If not DIN then it's only about 1480kg.

Edited by CJP80 on Tuesday 9th July 07:47

roystinho

3,767 posts

174 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
I actually thought the noise of the engine would've been better. But, certainly at the top end shifting up it makes a stupendous noise. The one I went out in didn't have the optional exhaust, but I heard someone elso out with it on and that sounded even better/more anti-social tootling around.

As for pace - it was unbelievable. I quite like the comparison with the C63 as I went out on the same roads in one only a few hours later. I found it about the same, but more than likely that was because I knew the roads by then.

I thought the ride comfort was pretty good for what it is, though I had just jumped out of a Clio V6 into it. The damping is excellent and it reminded me of a megane 265 round the country lanes. The electirc steering I thought was fantastically weighted too. And being pedantic, the steering wheel is actually a £570 option. But it is well worth it.

I found it quite neutral blasting down some B roads, which was fun in a way, but not my kind of fun. It was almost too devastatingly competant. Would love to have a go on track in one.

Overall I liked it, but the price is a bit, erm, steep. The one I was in specced out at £51k (yes £51k no typo). If I had the cash to spend on such a car I still reckon I'd go M135i, definitely if I was pushing my budget.

irish boy

3,523 posts

235 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
Cracking little car. Can't wait to get a drive in it. I reckon it's best left near it's £37k asking price, to spend £50k odd is unnecessary and asking for heavy depreciation.

roystinho

3,767 posts

174 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
irish boy said:
Cracking little car. Can't wait to get a drive in it. I reckon it's best left near it's £37k asking price, to spend £50k odd is unnecessary and asking for heavy depreciation.
Agree. The one I drove had £4k of carbon fibre to start off. Then £2k to get the limiter raised. The memory on the seats was £1k. Lane tracking and distance safety system - £1k...

I'd spec the steering wheel, the leather on the seats, and maybe the nav (or maybe not at £2k)

devnull

3,746 posts

156 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
I find it astounding that it's possible to squeeze 360 reliable horses out of a 2l turbo unit, with a likely life expectation of over 200k miles for the engine.

CJP80

1,091 posts

147 months

Monday 8th July 2013
quotequote all
devnull said:
I find it astounding that it's possible to squeeze 360 reliable horses out of a 2l turbo unit, with a likely life expectation of over 200k miles for the engine.
I find it astounding that it weighs nearly the same as a V8 M3!