Mercedes-AMG A45 S Is Truly the Ultimate Hot Hatch
AMG’s A45 S has absolutely no reason to have 420 horsepower. That’s exactly why we love it.
One of AMG’s best attributes is cranking out huge power from their engines. That’s exactly the case with the 421 horsepower A45 S. The stat alone makes the A45 S the most powerful production 4-cylinder car on the market. The more remarkable fact is that they squeeze all that power out of just 2.0 liters of displacement. Secretly, it makes us wonder why AMG’s twin turbo 4.0-liter V8 doesn’t put out 842 horsepower. But we digress.
Back to the A45 S. YouTube channel AutoTopNL took their Sun Yellow for a drive on Germany’s country roads. A prerequisite blast down the Autobahn also shows the high-speed prowess of the smallest AMG. Naturally, if you spring for an A45 S over a standard A45 or A35, you’re buying it for the speed. It should almost set itself to race mode by default.
The host for AutoTopNL, Max, describes his first impressions. “The steering feels really good! It’s quite a quick rack, and it is light, but you still can place the car really nicely.” Mercedes uses some trickery in the driveline to achieve those dynamics. Drift mode is available, and as Max points out; “With 4Matic +, you have up to 50% power to the front, and up to 100% to the rear.” Plus, via multiple differential clutches, it can spread that rear wheel power 100% to either side.
When it comes to blasting down the Autobahn, some different settings are in order. Although the engine is still set on race mode, comfort is used for the suspension in order to smooth things out. Comfort is also a significant part of the interior, as well. Max is assertive in his claim that the interior appointments of the A45 S are “the absolute best in their class.” A blast to about 230 miles per hour reveals another interesting characteristic of the engine. It feels more like a naturally-aspirate motor, preferring to be revved up, rather than a turbo with quick boost, but feels flat after. In all, he says the A45 S is such a great evolution from its predecessor, that it easily takes the role of best hot hatch.
All of that excellent engineering, and AMG so far has yet to bring it to our shores. Bummer.
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