AMG A 45 S vs. GR Corolla – The ‘Odd Couple’ Hot-Hatch Mismatch?
You may ask why compare a 300HP car with a 400 HP one? Well, because the AMG 45 and GR Corolla are both turbo AWD 5-door super hatches.
We hear you already. How the hell can we compare a 300-horsepower car with a 400 HP one? Well, that’s just part of the story. Because at the end of the day, both of these are turbocharged all-wheel drive 5-door super hatches. So there really shouldn’t be that big a power difference. The question here is more about why there’s such a big difference between them, rather than just hammering the slower car.
GR Corolla & AMG A 45 S – Same, but Different?
The Toyota GR Corolla borrows its 1.6-litre turbo gas three-pot, and drivetrain from its baby brother Yaris GRMN. 206 HP 273 lb.-ft lump has a thin wall cylinder head with two-level cam caps, eccentric pressed intake valve seats and an extra exhaust cam bearing. Specific injector spray, intake port, and combustion chamber shapes promote increased tumble, flow, and optimized combustion. And spherical pistons and combustion chambers reduce knock. Incredible stuff.
The Mercedes AMG A 45 S is not available in the US, but it’s basically the same car as the CLA 45 in that market. Which means it comes with a 415 HP 369 lb.-ft 2.1-bar twin-scroll roller bearing turbocharged M139 2-litre is of course built to AMG’s One Man, One Engine philosophy.
It’s been spun 180 degrees to turn its inlet to the front of its bay with the exhaust and turbo packed behind. To improve airflow to the engine and induce ram-effect at speed. Two-stage piezo injectors, an electronic wastegate, mirror like F1-derived Nanoslide cylinder bores and separate cylinder head and crankcase cooling water pumps add to an exotic engine spec.
The GR Corolla has a splendid six-speed manual gearbox with a positive and communicative shift and a well weighted clutch action. It drives a sophisticated all-wheel drive system that adapts to what you want to do. The Toyota also has Eco, Normal and Sport modes, while VSC Off resets vehicle stability and traction control parameters.
The AMG A 45 S swaps cogs by its Speedshift DCT 8G dual-clutch transmission and 4-Matic all-wheel drive. It has Race-Start launch control and a Drift Mode, too.
Little to Choose Between Super Hatches’ Chassis
The GR’s lighter, more rigid TNGA-C architecture adds 349 spot welds and an extra six feet of structural adhesive to the Corolla shell. Light and taut MacPherson strut front and modified trailing double-wishbone rear suspension has softer torsion bars.
Add performance dampers and coils, spacers and knuckles, increased camber, and aggressive ‘track and stage’ geometry. The AMG makes do with a strengthened chassis, cross braces, racecar solid engine mounts and a lightweight shear plate under the engine. Plus, frequency-selective adaptive dampers, high performance coils and three-mode AMG Ride Control,
The Toyota’s increased-ratio speed-sensing ECU-integrated brushless-motor electric power steering has a braced gear to lighten low speed effort but increased high speed feel. The Merc likewise features speed-sensitive, electro-mechanical sports power steering.
Stopping the GR is courtesy of red monobloc four-piston aluminum front calipers with two-piece 356 mm ventilated discs up front. And two-piston monobloc calipers and 297 mm vented discs aft. The Mercedes gets ventilated and perforated 360 x 36 mm front discs with 6-piston monobloc fixed front calipers and 330 x 22 mm rear rotors in single-pot floating calipers. Red, of course.
GR & AMG Aggro Comes in Different Doses
The GR Corolla certainly is its own car at first glance. Aggro thanks to functional fins, spats, under spoiler and matrix GR grille and vents to cool everything from the radiator to the turbo and brakes. Flared arches house two-inch wider front, and 3-in broader rear tracks to stress its wide, low stance. Signature DRL LED headlights, shortened fenders, vents and embossed skirts, a new rear diffuser and signature triple-exit exhausts add to the drama. 18-inch ENKEI cast aluminum wheels have 235/40R18 Yokohama Advan rubber. Riding 10 mm lower, the 35 mm longer GR has gains 10 mm more front and 25 mm rear overhang.
If that’s aggro, stand aside! This latest facelifted AMG A 45 S is a most imposing machine. That much is for sure. Now one of the family with its AMG-specific grille and AMG bonnet badge, it also has a red jet-wing apron, broader wings, and flared arches to fit that broader front track. Those aerodynamic polished rim black 19-inch 8.5 J light AMG alloys wearing 245/35 R 19 Michelin Sport Pilots are a treat. Add fatter AMG skirts and that aggro rear wing above quad 3-inch AMG tailpipes. Not the subtlest car on the block, some may find some of it garish. But you can also have it plain.
The Toyota’s driver-focused GR-themed suede and leather two-tone cockpit is headlined by the GR Yaris’ chunky 3-spoke leather steering wheel, alloy pedals and front bucket seats. Most controls fall to hand as you need them, but the cabin is severely let down by a tacky substandard monochrome 7-inch CarPlay Auto multimedia touchscreen. It’s nowhere near Toyota’s expected standard and seems an afterthought at this level. It does have a charging pad, USB-C and 12V ports. And cool track-focused 12.3-inch gauges that are also let down by lateral displays that fall short in appearance, and their range of data to display.
Are We Really Being Harsh?
That may sound harsh. But compare the Toyota’s lucky packet system to the Mercedes’ Starship Enterprise man-to-machine interface, impeccable instrumentation and MBUX infotainment across the dash in Classic, Sport and striking Supersport mode, and it makes you feel shortchanged in the Corolla. Even at the $15K discount. But the A 45 S is not perfect. The previous car had the old school Mercedes multifunction steering, which worked a treat. This one takes a sizeable step back. Sure, it looks the part, but it is crap to use and loves to switch stuff you least want, on. Back to the drawing board, Mercedes!
OK. Let’s get down to brass tacks. Step aboard and settle into that cosseting seat and the GR Corolla comes to you. It fires up to a quaint triple thrum, clutch action is fine, the gear lever feels superb. The AMG also invites you into a splendid, cosseting driver’s chair. But it feels much more like Hollywood in there, rather than the GR’s off-track betting shop vibe. Mercedes of course simplifies driving down to the bare minimum, so buckle in, prod the start button and finger the steering stalk gear lever for action.
On the road, the GR Corolla displays virtually no turbo lag. Push it, and it spools up quickly, even at low revs, and then bolts to the 7,000 rpm redline. There’s more than enough grunt to overtake and merge, even in 6th. But drop the clutch in anger and the throaty little 1.6-litre turbo triple barks to life. The AMG A 45 S immediately feels like a race car. It stands head and shoulders above from the moment you finger the starter button, and it shakes to life. There’s no velvet glove here. Just a naked iron fist, taut and stiff. And the most powerful four pot on the planet sounds gruff, horny.
Both Super Hatches are Brilliant on the Road
Floor it and GR Corolla is a gem. Its wide track makes it incredibly agile. If you drive it right, its dimensions help you rotate the car perfectly on the apex. Near perfect suspension and diff settings bring great balance, while Track mode has a 50:50 front rear split and sport mode bumps it to an oversteery 30:70 rear bias. So, it only starts to understeer really on the limit. Making a small adjustment to your driving style, it is possible to turn GR Corolla with the rear. That’s where it really shines for the driver. Get on it far earlier than you’d normally dare thanks to that exceptional lateral grip, and literally claws into the track. It will even light up all four tires to exit in a fantastic four-wheel drift. And brakes are fade free.
The AMG A 45 S feels brutal from the get-go. Ride is doggedly honest and it too, loves to be manhandled. The harder you steer, the better it responds to exploit those Sport Pilots, turn in like a dart, and follow brilliantly through. Be greedy with the throttle, pin it real early, sense the systems working below and revel in its tail happy rear-drive feel. Did someone say Drift Mode? Aah! It shifts AWD bias aft to make A 45 S a drift tool of note. Race Start is another peach. You don’t even need to be an engineer to activate it, just find Race, stand on both pedals, let it crackle and slip your foot off the clamps. See the metronomically consistent results below!
In its own right, the Toyota GR Corolla is a great all-round motorcar. Ride quality is plush. The cabin quiet. There are a few cons. We wish it sounded a bit better. And fuel economy. They claim 28 mpg. Good luck with that! Which is a pity, because that dismal range flies right back in the face of a rather practical and quite splendid package. And precisely the same goes for the AMG, it even has the same gas mileage!
GR vs AMG Should Not Be a Mismatch
The Mercedes is a little less compromised, but at an eye-watering $57,800, some may find some aspects hard to swallow. Some fit and finish imperfections are a worry, while A 45 S’ direct, brutal set-up is ever-present, even in its most basic comfort mode. And man, it’s a gas glutton! It rides well enough though. To satisfy some of the people some of the time. Not all of the people all of the time. None of that will ever matter to the guy or gal who will actually go out and buy either of these cars.
Some may say that this Toyota is not much more than just a bloated GR Yaris. Some say that being a red-blooded extreme performance pedigree A 45 S rival at heart, that the Toyota really should rather have a 500 horsepower four-pot turbo Hybrid to teach this Mercedes a performance lesson. Rather than be taught it.
So yes, in a way this is a mismatch between two quite different super hatches. Indeed, we’re comparing apples with apples in terms of both cars being all-wheel drive turbo 5-door mega hatches. But while each is brilliant in its own right, one is far more sophisticated, much stronger, and much more expensive than the other. Which is a pity because we’d far prefer this to be a straight fight. All we pray, is that somebody is listening down Aichi way…
SHOOTOUT: Mercedes-AMG Toyota GR
A 45 S Corolla Circuit
Engine: 415 HP 369 lb.-ft 206 HP 273 lb.-ft
2-liter turbo 1.6-liter turbo
gas I4 gas I3
Drive: 8-speed DC 6-speed
auto AWD. manual AWD
TESTED:
0-40 mph: 1.91 sec 2.41 sec
0-60 mph: 3.88 sec 5.11 sec
0-80 mph: 5.12 sec 6.87 sec
0-100 mph: 8.32 sec 11.19sec
¼-mile: 11.9 sec 13.2 sec
Terminal: 119 mph 105 mph
50-75 mph: 2.28 sec 3.39 sec
75-100 mph: 3.21 sec 5.01sec
CLAIMED:
VMax: 167 mph 140 km/h
Fuel: 28 mpg 28 mpg
LIST PRICE: $57,800* $43,995
RATED: 9 8
*CLA 45 AMG US price
Images: Michele Lupini