New Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 is 'unthinkable' 680hp EV

Bored of waiting for the all-electric M3? New CLA saloon and wagon have had an almighty glow up...

By Stephen Dobie / Thursday, 9 July 2026 / Loading comments

The jump from ICE to EV power has seen plenty of performance cars not just skip forward in their potential but leap boisterously. This new Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 clearly got the memo and ad-libbed: gone is the old, 421hp 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo, replaced by a mighty 94kWh battery and three axial flux motors for 680hp and 0-62mph in three seconds flat. Seen lower figures elsewhere? Affalterbach has cribbed off American benchmarking and is quoting 2.7s with a one-foot rollout…

It’s almighty performance for the artist formerly known as AMG’s entry-level sports saloon. And while the – ahem – divisive AMG GT 4-Door Coupe takes care of halo performance figures and maximum shock value, the littler CLA wants to give you good old-fashioned interaction.

Never mind its power figure, the headline surely goes to AMGFORCE S+. It’s a brash name for a very zeitgeisty piece of tech, one which simulates gearchanges and apparently uses 1,600 recorded sound effects from the outgoing AMG A45 S – plus built-in ‘seat shakers’ – to ensure they hammer home with appropriate realism. (And you thought a four-pot hot hatch was a break from AMG tradition.)

“Filters, burbling effects, acceleration sequences: the entire acoustic spectrum of a modern performance car can be experienced,” we’re told. Sounds aren’t reserved for motion, either, with “two confirming heartbeats when the vehicle is locked, a concise boom when plugging in the charging cable, and a characterful electric hum when charging starts.” What a world…

Perhaps you’re more titillated by the prospect of its three motors – two on the rear axle and one up front. As well as delivering its 680hp and 1,297lb ft (!) peaks, they offer fully variable all-wheel drive. The rear pairing is the priority and can deliver the full hit of power, while the front acts as a temporary booster and peaks at 360hp. Torque can be shuffled smartly front to back and there’s torque vectoring functionality between the rear pair for “plenty of driving pleasure”. Hopefully that proves as much of an understatement as it sounds – the ‘45 models before it were known for their drift modes, after all.

AMG Ride Control pairs steel springs with adaptive three-way dampers which toggle through Comfort, Sport and AMGFORCE S+ setups. The latter already sounds too stiff for UK roads, right? AMG Dynamic Select adds six drive modes as standard, or seven if you’ve ticked the right options box to add its Race parameter. Perhaps you won’t need it, however: in Race, the car’s permanently AWD, sits lower to the ground and prioritises laptimes. The lowlier S+ mode, and its virtual shifts, might just be the place you dwell more frequently. A steering wheel toggle allows you to adjust numerous elements – ESP intervention among them – independent of drive mode.

Active aerodynamics are the cherry atop it all. Active radiator fins up front prioritise aero efficiency by staying closed until absolutely necessary, while the rear spoiler on both the Saloon and Shooting Brake versions – yep, both live on in the fully electric era – visually integrates into the design under normal operation before adopting different angles depending on your speed and drive mode. Show-offs will be delighted to know there’s manual activation, too.

Practicalities? Mercedes claims 3.3-3.7 miles per kWh efficiency in the four-door for a range of up to 416 miles (you’ll dip to 397 miles in the wagon) and 330kW peak DC charging thanks to 800V architecture. Less range than a base Benz CLA 250+ and its smaller battery, but not half bad given the AMG’s extra driven axle and its bombardment of additional systems. Weight, too: with clanging inevitability, this new CLA 45 is a 2.3-tonne car, though that’s hardly a shock given an Audi RS5 now sits there too.

The Saloon offers 390 litres of boot volume, the Shooting Brake 450 litres, and both pack another 101 litres into their frunk. DC charging from 10-80 per cent can be as brisk as 22 minutes and – if the chargers play ball – you can gain 168 miles of range in just ten minutes. Which does, we suppose, hint at the ability to actually take a car like this on track to explore its blatantly vast potential rather than merely daydream of it.

AMG hopes you will: its Track Pace app is optional and comes pre-loaded with the Nürburgring and Spa, among other circuits, plus coaching programmes that pipe corner-by-corner instructions into the head-up display for an authentic driving sim feel.

Quite how many laps of those illustrious tracks can be wrung from each charge remains to be seen – drivers will surely drink more contemplative coffees at the Devil’s Diner here than with any combustion AMG – but five levels of brake regen and the ability to stop the car entirely on electronics should help wring out a mite more range. Though its 390mm front/350mm rear discs will be necessary for track work.

We’ve not even touched on its design, though suffice to say our first impression is of a car much more palatable than its bigger GT 4-Door Coupe brother. Chintzy illuminated grilles and light bars aside, its overall look is reassuringly similar to the CLA 45s that went before it. Even if, as those stats undoubtedly suggest, its performance has entered an entirely new sphere.