The Drive Report: Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG S

The A45 S is a full-sized car and ballistically powerful bazooka on wheels. It’s essentially an ultra-high-performance sports car disguised as a hot hatch.

The Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG S qualifies as a hot hatch only by a technicality. Hot hatches are diminutive, with power levels that are relatively high in comparison to the car’s size and stature. It’s like The Martian being submitted for Oscar contention under the “comedy” category.

The A45 S is a full-sized car and ballistically powerful bazooka on wheels. It’s essentially an ultra-high-performance sports car disguised as a hot hatch. A masterclass in superlative cardom and undoubtedly, a future classic. Especially its slightly new, facelifted form.

Why? Let’s see.

For starters, there’s that 2.0-litre, twin-turbo, flat-four producing 421 hp and a staggering 500 Nm of torque. That’s inching dangerously close to Porsche 911 territory with its 450 hp.

And although it might be sacrilegious to compare the two, given how different the performance is, it is still a remarkable feat for a production inline-4 to make as much power as a rally car.

And, unlike rally cars which are expected to run for a limited period before being thoroughly serviced, the A45 S is expected to go about its business of being a daily driver.

What’s new?

Not much, to be perfectly honest. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Save for the chrome-garnished, AMG-spec radiator grille and reshaped LED DRLs and taillamps, the car is still the thermonuclear hatchback we all know and love.

However, there’s also an optional all-black spoiler, which makes the A45 S look significantly more menacing than before. In every other respect, as far as interiors are concerned, the A45 S remains identical in form and dimensions.

Of any potential rival that it has overseas, the A45 S now has the most flamboyantly sporty interior. Fitting, given that it’s an AMG and a bit of flamboyance comes with the territory.

Yellow borders now run across the upholstery, and the dashboard is a mix of aluminium and leather, with a black and silver theme running across the dash that gets its own set of pinstripes at the front passenger’s end of the dash. While this might be a bit on the nose in terms of sporty design, and a bit of a departure from the Teutonic sobriety that most Mercs, even AMGs, emanate, it underscores the personality traits of the A45 S very well. This is a family hatch to end all family hatches and it doesn’t mind having a laugh about it all.

The chunky, Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel now gets touch-sensitive controls. The combo of two 10.25-inch touchscreens remains the same, this time featuring the latest MBUX interface, albeit sans a 360-degree camera.

Still, safety is paramount to this seven-airbag and AEB (automated emergency braking)-equipped AMG and you would be wise to turn off the brake assists before setting off if you want to keep that exotic diffuser and quad-pipe exhaust intact.

Can it be a daily driver?

It takes a certain type of road to make a daily driver out of this car. And such roads aren’t available in abundance. The A45, despite having a stiff suspension set-up, still manages to feel comfortable, no doubt about it.

Perhaps it’s a personal preference, but the bucket seats, like the ones on the A45, provide just the right amount of lumbar support. This is still a very low-riding car, requiring exceptional care when going over speed bumps, always inducing a wince with the inevitable crunching sound that comes from making contact with a boulder-sized speed bump.

But you’re willing to forgive its foibles because the second you’re past the turbo-lag part of the rev range and cross 1700 rpm, the business-end of this car, with its 415 hp, comes alive and dispatches the A45 S like a rocket-powered javelin. Even short bursts of speed, which are the only bursts one can experience in the city, feel gratifying.

Two knobs on the steering allow you to toggle modes on the fly with such ease, it’s yet another reminder why tactile knobs trump any touchscreen interface. Twist it clockwise and you’re in Sport or Sport+, depending on your fortitude.

Best to set it to individual mode, where you can have the exhaust on full chat, and the engine in Sport mode with more power being sent rearward while still keeping the suspension relatively supple for city roads.

The A45 S is an unapologetic performer and doesn’t like to masquerade itself as anything else. Even in its softest setting, it’s a flat cornering fastball of a car that, save for the initial bit of lag, doesn’t make you miss a V6.

In fact, most of the time you’re simply marvelling at how a four-pot motor can feel this visceral and powerful and then continue to do that for thousands and thousands of kilometres.

It entertains and engages you with every click of the paddle-shifters, its eight-speed DCT as seamless as ever. Stick in manual mode and you’ll find out how fast and high this thing revs, hitting the limiter so quick that you really need to be quick with your upshifts. This is a far more compelling performance car than it is a complete one.

Verdict

In almost every way, the A45 S is a peerless car. Even in international markets, its status as the world’s most powerful production in-line four sets it apart.

But in India there’s nothing within its sight that has a similar make-up. The BMW M340i’s single-turbo straight-six is smooth and certainly a good deal cheaper, but it doesn’t possess the bare-knuckle immediacy of this one. Neither do lesser AMGs like the GLC, which has a bigger motor but makes less power.

With the top spec version costing Rs 93.4 lakh, it's a hefty price to pay for what is a mechanical novelty. But it’s hard to make an argument against it, because any way you slice it, the A45 S is the very best of an already rare kind of performance car.