RE: 2020 Mercedes-AMG A45 S | UK Review

RE: 2020 Mercedes-AMG A45 S | UK Review

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Honeywell

1,368 posts

97 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
quotequote all
Err, a Ferrari F40 for blasting the wet twisty tarmac of Wales in February?

Totally wrong tool. That thing is amazeballs on a track, or on a German autobahn blitzing Porsches. It's too wide, the ride to hard, the tyres to prince to tramline on cold wet welsh roads. You'd never get the tyres warm enough to get into their design range. You'd have a choice of driving in only two gears realistically. Plus it's worth hundreds of thousands and you might hit a sheep around the next bend. Totally the wrong machine for that job.

F40 at a hill climb - I've been up close and it was awesome. On the back roads of Powys it would be a boring expensive risky fish out of water my friend.

Pommy

14,229 posts

215 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
quotequote all
Honeywell said:
Err, a Ferrari F40 for blasting the wet twisty tarmac of Wales in February?

Totally wrong tool. That thing is amazeballs on a track, or on a German autobahn blitzing Porsches. It's too wide, the ride to hard, the tyres to prince to tramline on cold wet welsh roads. You'd never get the tyres warm enough to get into their design range. You'd have a choice of driving in only two gears realistically. Plus it's worth hundreds of thousands and you might hit a sheep around the next bend. Totally the wrong machine for that job.

F40 at a hill climb - I've been up close and it was awesome. On the back roads of Powys it would be a boring expensive risky fish out of water my friend.
But what if it had a mild map and a sports exhaust?

hothatchery7

103 posts

74 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
quotequote all
Pommy said:
But what if it had a mild map and a sports exhaust?
Then it would be the best car by far on the planet smile

Edited by hothatchery7 on Thursday 20th February 07:18

hothatchery7

103 posts

74 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
quotequote all
Honeywell said:
If you thrashed this car on the public road like I did mine today you’d end up in the Morgue or the Crown Court within short order. Where’s the balance? Where’s the car moving around on the edge of grip? Where’s the cheeky power oversteer on the wet roundabout? Where’s the beautifully rev matched gear change under braking?

Plus it looks like it’s been styled by a 16yr oldlad with a Saturday job in Demon Tweaks.


I am sure they will sell by the bucketload. I don’t get it though. It looks like not much fun - remember fun? - wrapped up in a package that requires a lot of compromises on everything but raw thrust. I think I’d have more driving pleasure in a 2CV.
You can’t of been thrashing the Toyota very much then? only takes 30mph over the limit for a ban and that gutless remapped engine can surely do that. If you get joy from every single corner no matter what speed in yours, you may as well just get a 2CV. It’s hardly a thrilling masterpiece of a vehicle and arguably there are many many cars I’ve driven that I enjoyed more than one of those. Granted the one I drove didn’t have a sports exhaust.

You simply cannot compare a gt86 to one of these?! In terms of practicality, performance, safety, grip, build quality and refinement.

Edited by hothatchery7 on Thursday 20th February 07:27

Onehp

1,617 posts

282 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
quotequote all
hothatchery7 said:
You can’t of been thrashing the Toyota very much then? only takes 30mph over the limit for a ban and that gutless remapped engine can surely do that. If you get joy from every single corner no matter what speed in yours, you may as well just get a 2CV. It’s hardly a thrilling masterpiece of a vehicle and arguably there are many many cars I’ve driven that I enjoyed more than one of those. Granted the one I drove didn’t have a sports exhaust.

You simply cannot compare a gt86 to one of these?! In terms of practicality, performance, safety, grip, build quality and refinement.

Edited by hothatchery7 on Thursday 20th February 07:27
No fun in that list? My also mildly modded GT86 was fine as a daily, and it is more pactical than a 911, but once having a family it did run out of practicality.... My hot hatch/estate is proper sorted too but doesn't come close for pure driving interaction and the ability to push it quite some without the need to do silly speeds straight on to get driving thrills. Is it so hard to concede the A45s won't be best at everything?

Diclaimer: I haven't driven the A45s on such roads and neither have most of us here, but by the very concept that makes it good at your list of attributes, it will hardly be a pure driving experience. Thrilling at times yes. I guess I'm more on the Chris Harris side. All the while admitting I'd love one anyway. Just not for those reasons...

TheDrBrian

5,444 posts

221 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
quotequote all
cerb4.5lee said:
Olivera said:
cerb4.5lee said:
I constantly moaned about only having 295 Ib/ft torque in my E92 M3..
Make that 'still constantly moan'. Hardly a day goes by without you mentioning it on here.
That is a fair point and I do reference it a lot for sure. smile
If only there was some way to multply torque. A container of cogs or something.

BrewsterBear said:
The clever 4WD system means it can be driven however you like including in hooligan RWD drift mode. It does 60mph in 4 seconds.

.
tongue outress X to doubt:

NGK210

2,868 posts

144 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
quotequote all
Why so reverential when mentioning the F40?
When it was launched, Car mag et al criticised it for a rock hard borderline unusable ride on public roads, yet on track it lurched, pitched, leaned, and generally felt ‘orrible around corners.
Cynical, crude, underdeveloped rip-off cash cow was the general verdict.
What’s happened in the intervening years - does every F40 now have redesigned suspension and steering?

Honeywell

1,368 posts

97 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
quotequote all
hothatchery7 said:
You can’t of been thrashing the Toyota very much then? only takes 30mph over the limit for a ban and that gutless remapped engine can surely do that. If you get joy from every single corner no matter what speed in yours, you may as well just get a 2CV. It’s hardly a thrilling masterpiece of a vehicle and arguably there are many many cars I’ve driven that I enjoyed more than one of those. Granted the one I drove didn’t have a sports exhaust.

You simply cannot compare a gt86 to one of these?! In terms of practicality, performance, safety, grip, build quality and refinement.

Edited by hothatchery7 on Thursday 20th February 07:27
A lack of a gut is a much strived for attribute amongst men.

If the objective is fun rather than thrust then a GT86 is a skilfully used Rabbit and the Merc45 is a crudely used Black Mamba.


FOr £51k you get a fantastic new Golf GTi plus a used Lotus Elise, tricked GT86, Westfield, every single motorbike or whatever else to get your proper sports cars kicks. I got my Toyota sideways more often yesterday than any MercA45 will ever do in three years of leasing. Who is having the most fun?

jdmave

135 posts

134 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
quotequote all
Honeywell said:
hothatchery7 said:
You can’t of been thrashing the Toyota very much then? only takes 30mph over the limit for a ban and that gutless remapped engine can surely do that. If you get joy from every single corner no matter what speed in yours, you may as well just get a 2CV. It’s hardly a thrilling masterpiece of a vehicle and arguably there are many many cars I’ve driven that I enjoyed more than one of those. Granted the one I drove didn’t have a sports exhaust.

You simply cannot compare a gt86 to one of these?! In terms of practicality, performance, safety, grip, build quality and refinement.

Edited by hothatchery7 on Thursday 20th February 07:27
A lack of a gut is a much strived for attribute amongst men.

If the objective is fun rather than thrust then a GT86 is a skilfully used Rabbit and the Merc45 is a crudely used Black Mamba.


FOr £51k you get a fantastic new Golf GTi plus a used Lotus Elise, tricked GT86, Westfield, every single motorbike or whatever else to get your proper sports cars kicks. I got my Toyota sideways more often yesterday than any MercA45 will ever do in three years of leasing. Who is having the most fun?
I'd have to argue my point and say in the last couple weeks with the sheer volumes of water on the roads.......I've been having more fun in a safer way in an A45s than I'd have in an arse waving coupe whilst sharing the road with other users........

hothatchery7

103 posts

74 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
quotequote all
Honeywell said:
A lack of a gut is a much strived for attribute amongst men.

If the objective is fun rather than thrust then a GT86 is a skilfully used Rabbit and the Merc45 is a crudely used Black Mamba.


FOr £51k you get a fantastic new Golf GTi plus a used Lotus Elise, tricked GT86, Westfield, every single motorbike or whatever else to get your proper sports cars kicks. I got my Toyota sideways more often yesterday than any MercA45 will ever do in three years of leasing. Who is having the most fun?
It depends what you get fun from I suppose. And as someone said it is healthy for us all to have different opinions. If we agreed it would be boring. But I had my fun in e36 compacts with hydro handbrake an diff, but generally now unless it’s in a forest I don’t find going sideways as much fun as going as fast as possible into corners and waiting until the very last second to lean on incredible brakes. but on day to day driving I will concede having a little low speed slide would liven a journey up. but on the topic of a brand new car at this price range, I still think very little could actually come close to the capability and all round prowess as one of these.

Onehp

1,617 posts

282 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
quotequote all
On the topic of sideways, if one has to have a 4wd hot hatch, or even more an fast estate, the A45s/CLA45s SB is a very strong contendor. Slippery roads, snow, gravel, weeks of shopping, school run, M-way stint, slippery road again.
No manual handbrake in this one?

jdmave

135 posts

134 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
quotequote all
Onehp said:
On the topic of sideways, if one has to have a 4wd hot hatch, or even more an fast estate, the A45s/CLA45s SB is a very strong contendor. Slippery roads, snow, gravel, weeks of shopping, school run, M-way stint, slippery road again.
No manual handbrake in this one?
If you want all that, just drop it into drift mode and smile.........yes its assisted but hey ho

Pommy

14,229 posts

215 months

Thursday 20th February 2020
quotequote all
NGK210 said:
Why so reverential when mentioning the F40?
When it was launched, Car mag et al criticised it for a rock hard borderline unusable ride on public roads, yet on track it lurched, pitched, leaned, and generally felt ‘orrible around corners.
Cynical, crude, underdeveloped rip-off cash cow was the general verdict.
What’s happened in the intervening years - does every F40 now have redesigned suspension and steering?
You couldnt be more wrong it appears and this is from CAR July 1988:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.carmagazine.co.uk...

"So how does the F40 stack up as a road car? It is sensational, no doubt. Both to look at, and to drive. Probably the most sensational sports car ever unveiled. It is certainly the most accelerative. The most exhilarating. Never before has a machine so overtly aping Silverstone machinery had the opportunity legally to drive down to Sainsbury’s. It is also beautifully made, a joy to examine in detail, and to touch. It is a much more exciting, gratifying car to look at, and observe, than the Porsche 959."

Onehp

1,617 posts

282 months

Sunday 1st March 2020
quotequote all
https://www.motortrend.com/news/amg-m139-turbo-fou...

Interesting about the engine.

Trick cooling
Ball bearing turbo
Response focused mapping

Mday835

32 posts

41 months

Sunday 22nd November 2020
quotequote all
Gitwhoismiserable said:
I’m with you there buy only, pcp is for peasants
With this sort of car costing £700 per month with £5k deposit, this or similar are hardly for peasants. There are pros and cons to PCP, but it does open up access to some phenomenal cars that would only be available to the few. If you go into it eyes wide open then I think it is a useful option, but some PCP rates are ridiculous. I’ve found BMW to be pretty competitive. I’m amazed at some people’s decision to sign up to a PCP at £400 per month for some utter rubbish ([insert generic baby ‘SUV’ here]) where they would be better off buying a used vehicle outright with a personal loan and save a fortune.

Also, with uncertainty over future of ICE cars and values, as well as the enormous maintenance costs that will probably come with these types of cars after 4 or 5 years, the ability to hand back after 3/4 and step into the latest technology with no significant outlay up front does have some decent logic.

With this particular car, I think it looks bonkers in a good way for now, but it is in your face in a way that will mean it looks questionable in a few years and will eventually fall into the hands of boy racers. Prefer the subtlety of some it’s rivals. Personally M2 comp for me.

s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Sunday 22nd November 2020
quotequote all
Pommy said:
NGK210 said:
Why so reverential when mentioning the F40?
When it was launched, Car mag et al criticised it for a rock hard borderline unusable ride on public roads, yet on track it lurched, pitched, leaned, and generally felt ‘orrible around corners.
Cynical, crude, underdeveloped rip-off cash cow was the general verdict.
What’s happened in the intervening years - does every F40 now have redesigned suspension and steering?
You couldnt be more wrong it appears and this is from CAR July 1988:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.carmagazine.co.uk...

"So how does the F40 stack up as a road car? It is sensational, no doubt. Both to look at, and to drive. Probably the most sensational sports car ever unveiled. It is certainly the most accelerative. The most exhilarating. Never before has a machine so overtly aping Silverstone machinery had the opportunity legally to drive down to Sainsbury’s. It is also beautifully made, a joy to examine in detail, and to touch. It is a much more exciting, gratifying car to look at, and observe, than the Porsche 959."
Just shows how the memory is a fragile tool!

Often notice this about peoples perceptions of how they ‘think’ a car was originally reviewed decades before

WJNB

2,637 posts

160 months

Sunday 22nd November 2020
quotequote all
Just a souped up Focus for badge snobs, soon to be seen driven by drug dealers on your estate.
To think there was a time when Mercedes was a superior brand not aimed at the yob element.

ajap1979

7,905 posts

186 months

Sunday 22nd November 2020
quotequote all
WJNB said:
Just a souped up Focus for badge snobs, soon to be seen driven by drug dealers on your estate.
To think there was a time when Mercedes was a superior brand not aimed at the yob element.
Mercedes are specifically aiming their cars at the “yob element”? How so?