It’s now a decade since the first Mercedes A45 AMGs arrived in the UK. Even in a sector that had recently also welcomed a five-cylinder RS3 and six-cylinder M135i, this was something significant. It was a Mercedes hot hatch, for starters, when not many years before the junior AMG was a C63 - a huge step change for Affalterbach, basically. A 180hp-per-litre, four-cylinder turbo (also a first) and all-wheel drive were certainly not in keeping with tradition, but there was no arguing with the A45’s effectiveness; practically nothing went quicker down a British B-road. The 2019 second gen introduced even more power alongside a sense of fun conspicuously lacking the first time around, and now it’s time for that car to be refreshed.
You certainly won't be mistaking it for anything else. The AMG Aerodynamic package is now standard fit for the A45; good news for elevating the 421hp flagship above all the other AMG-badged A-Classes out there, bad news for those who quite liked the non-pack'd sleeper ’45 that could previously be had. Even with a revised front end, the A45 still isn’t what you’d call a looker, the rear in particular a bit busy with its assortment of splitters and spoilers. But then it’s hardly like the sector is bristling with stand-out lookers. And you’re buying this car for what it’s capable of rather than how it looks, surely.
Similarly, little has changed inside. If you didn’t like the AMG A-Class before, you won’t now, even if it is less cluttered. That said, the new wheel is more stylish and less bewildering than it once was (now it’s familiar from other cars) while having mode switches on the spokes (the AMG Performance item is now standard fit) does make configurability that bit simpler. Which, with so much to choose from dynamically, must be an improvement. Further tweaking is possible via the screen but feels fiddly. An M2 makes adjustment simpler with an iDrive and better displays; those who do care about every last inch will surely prefer the BMW. And one last thing: nobody needs eight different layouts for the instrument binnacle, along with four head-up displays. Nobody.
Having not driven an A45 since the original launch, it’s a fascinating car to get reacquainted with. While ostensibly another all-wheel drive hot hatch powered by a 2.0-litre turbo with a dual-clutch auto, it undoubtedly possesses a character all of its own. The key to that, as always, is in the impression of being a genuinely downsized AMG experience - rather than simply a hotted-up A-Class. It sounds insignificant, but there’s tangible evidence of it even in normal driving.
Absent from any of the dynamic configurations is any adjustment for the steering or the brakes, and it’s to the benefit of both. The brake pedal feel has been a standout feature of A45s for 10 years now, and it remains great; the travel isn’t incredibly short, but there’s huge confidence from the top about how the pressure applied will correlate to stopping performance. Something like an RS3 just can’t offer the same experience, and the A45 makes it clear how much of an afterthought the pedal seemingly is elsewhere.
The same could be said for the steering: it doesn’t add needless weight or a freakishly fast away-from-centre feel (looking at you, Focus ST), instead there's just a clean and consistent response from the moment lock is applied. The weight feels just right, too. That frustration and mode anxiety that exists elsewhere never manifests itself when driving an A45, because the important stuff is just done right.
It seems a shame that the M139 engine has now been sullied somewhat by its association with a two-tonne C63, because it remains an absolutely epic four-cylinder turbo. There is nothing else comparable out there with such energy and vigour over the last 1,500rpm or so, charging for 7,200rpm like an engine possessed. The 421hp 2.0-litre - which still feels pretty mad to write down - delivers everything we love about turbo engines, from some low rev hesitancy to make the rush more thrilling, a great big slug of mid-range wallop, and that final flourish that’s always worth holding on for.
Tightly stacked ratios - second won’t get you past 50mph, third is done by 75mph - in the eight-speed DCT only heighten the sense of giddy relentlessness, accelerating in the A45 a crazed flurry of revs, upshift parps, flashing dash and turbo roar. Anyone who believes that automated four pots can’t be exciting must try one of these cars. Even if the sound remains a bit synthetic.
The chassis is no less impressive. It’s a taut, precise, fearsomely capable car, albeit one with sufficient engagement to not just feel like just another fast four-wheel drive car. With the Sport setting for the dampers (Sport+, as often with AMG, is a bit much), there’s a great balance of corner-carving control with just a bit of body movement to feel the chassis working away as hard as it can. If no longer a fresh opinion, there remains the feel of an old rally special here, the combination of a feral turbo engine and clever suspension pretty irresistible on a minor British road. Even when travelling rapidly, the A45 will always goad you into more. Furthermore, while its configurability is initially bamboozling, the depth of talent here ought to mean some happy months experimenting rather than endless frustration trying to find a mix-and-match setting that suits.
Complaints? It’d be nice to have a little more rear bias to the 4Matic available before the gung-ho Drift Mode, which itself should be more accessible in the mould of an RS3. And it can feel like a more aggressive tyre than the Continental SportContact6 might play well to the A45’s tenacious, indefatigable attitude. But be in no doubt: this remains an unforgettable B-road blaster. And that’s just in the dry.
‘Remains’ is the key point there, however. This doesn’t feel like a tangibly different AMG experience to the one from four years ago, at least on this drive in very different circumstances. Which is understandable to some extent (because where do you go from a 421hp hot hatch with electrification looming?) but means the same problems with the A45 exist as well. Specifically, it is noisy at a cruise, the interior has some cheap bits that can’t really be excused for the price and the eight-speed DCT - if superior to the Audi equivalent - can still be caught out on occasion.
Those character traits were always easy to overlook because the A45 was such a wildly entertaining ride in the right situation. It can most certainly still do raw thrills better than the best RS3 yet made. Problem now is that an AMG hot hatch costs so much more for a broadly similar experience. When we first drove the car in early 2020 it was from £50,570; now the starting price is £63,285, which is a substantial leap for a car with so many recognisable attributes and only minor improvements. Though a different prospect as a two-door, two-wheel drive car, the BMW M2 feels pretty unavoidable at this new price point (from £64,890), with the additional allure of a larger straight six and even more modern interior. Those that like what the A45 offers have every right to be intrigued, because it’s awesome - but you'd be right to question paying the premium over a very lightly used version of the old one.
SPECIFICATION | 2023 MERCEDES-AMG A45 S
Engine: 1,991cc, four-cyl turbo
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 421@6,750rpm
Torque (lb ft): 369@5,000-5,250rpm
0-62mph: 3.9 seconds
Top speed: 168mph
Weight: 1,680kg
MPG: 30.7
CO2: from 207g/km
Price: £63,910
1 / 14
