Boasting no less than 421bhp, Mercedes’ thunderous hot hatch is a smashing hit both with sportscars enthusiasts and… those cap wearers who like to drive laid down with their arms outstretched in cars registered in the Eastern Europe countries to make sure they never get a ticket. Two completely different worlds which, come what may, are a great advertisement for the Affalterbach company. It’s obviously the first category of punters that we’ll be trying to please today. Could this be the new ‘Hammer’ of the 21st century ? 

Back in the 80s, AMG launched a 300 CE powered by a 6.0 V8 with 385 bhp and 568 Nm… never-seen-before figures that allowed this monster, nicknamed ‘Hammer’ to reach 300 km/h on German autobahns where Dacia weren’t yet clogging the left lane doing a mere 110 km/h. Nowadays, such figures are humbled by the small A45S developing 421bhp and 500Nm out of a small 2.0-litre 4-cylinder engine boosted by a turbo that blows out loud. Admittedly, top speed is limited to 168 MPH but that’s not the main point. Helped by its 4-wheel drive system, it doesn’t shy away from any obstacle and swallows bends with appetite. Even if, in our eyes, it lacks « body language »…

I like it

Our white test car didn’t have any aerodynamic- enhancing extras and it  suited us perfectly like that. We always prefer such potent weapons to be discreet, unlike the cap wearers mentioned earlier on. For the most part, the interior is  the same as lesser A-Class, with a few colorful touches,  Alcantara and carbon touches setting it nicely apart. AMG- only displays are available on the central screen, as well as in front of the driver’s eyes. Last but not least, more extreme driving modes are available at the flick of the two dedicated steering wheel switches.

Quite clever

This car never fails to put a smile on your face. Leaving off any truck can be done  with a quick blast of the throttle after changing up a gear or two and on main roads you can take advantage of the car’s liveliness to get away from a cruise control monitored convoy. It’s obviously on some Ardennes winding roads that the AMG A45S demonstrates its full potential. However, it was probably as  genuine family transport that this Mercedes impressed us most :  comfort is so good. Obviously, damping is firm side and suspension travel is rather short but the AMG Ride Control allows to maintain a nice progressive feel and balance in Comfort mode. It’s one of this car’s main assets :  it can be comfortable too.

I don’t like it

The small AMG slightly disappointed us. The winding roads we use to test cars were still dry at the end of the Indian Summer but the A45S bored us and that’s saying a lot. The problem is that its efficiency is so breathtaking that you have to push it really hard to feel any pleasure behind the wheel. Obviously, we didn’t want to end in a ditch or a tree, exceeding our own limits was out of the question. As a result, the tires didn’t squeal once and the rear suspension remained composed like never before. Suffice to say,  getting the Michelin Pilot Sport S tires fitted to the car to give up, is often too much. Unlike a certain Toyota GR Yaris tuned to provide more thrills behind the wheel, the AMG remains unruffled and is therefore boring… unless you can use it on a track Our first test drive of this car was a lot more fun but the roads were undoubtedly muddier. It should really be more playfull to seduce us…

Why I buy it

Extracting so much power out of such a small engine is no mean feat. With a 210.5 bhp/liter specific power, it hardly has any competitors. It pushes hard and all the time, especially as the 8-speed gearbox changes gear very quickly without achieving the instantaneous shifts of racing transmissions, and we would have liked enjoyed larger steering wheel paddles even more. As we said earlier, the car is particularly comfortable in everyday use, and fuel consumption can be kept relatively under control at around 31 MPG if you don’t use the available power all the time. Without being unpleasant, noise could have been louder inside but there is perhaps a fine line between not enough and too much in this respect.

Why I don’t buyi it

As mentioned above, you need to be a very good driver to push this car to its limits. On dry roads, grip is absolutely fantastic and we didn’t want to damage this beautiful object by pushing it too far.  It retails from €75,000 onwards and the bill can rise very quickly if you tick a few extras or accessories. Reaching the 100 K mark is very easy. Deep pockets are needed to enjoy this entry-level AMG. Its 1,635 kg will be too much for purists but the latest BMW M2 is 1,800 kg while a Toyota GR Yaris is just 1,310 kg… (Translation: Dimitri Urbain)

Driving the Mercedes A220d saloon

As good as gold

The A-Class (including the AMG versions) just got a mid-career facelift. The changes are minimal, but will ensure the compact saloon remains a hit with discerning punters. The A220d should please heavy mileage drivers who want supreme comfort. With 190 bhp and a 400 Nm torque, it is ideally suited for long journeys and sips diesel. Starting from cold, the engine is loud. However, testing a lot of electric cars must highlight this ICE shortcoming even more. The gearbox could be better too : there’s  a blatant lack of responsiveness, particularly when you getting out quickly of a roundabout or leave a parking space is needed. However, you end up getting used to it in anticipating this lack of responsiveness when you start off. Materials and their fit and finish are quite good, even more so when the car is adorned with an AMG badge. The driving aids and safety assistants are useful without being too intrusive, that suits us pretty well. While we still feel more comfortable with a saloon ride height, this one could do with a little more : some Belgian access ramps are too high, potholes are  deep and some so-called « traffic calming measures » are deliberately made to damage cars…