Mercedes-Benz opens the order books for its hottest car to be launched this year in the UK. It is the new A45 AMG hot hatchback, and it starts at just £37,845. That sounds like a reasonable price, considering that you get plenty of car for your money. It’s a family car, a sports car, and a hot rod, all wrapped up in one compact package.
The A45 AMG is a five-door hatchback, which makes it very practical and family-friendly. It also has a four-cylinder turbocharged engine which boasts the highest specific output of any production engine. Now, that is not a family-friendly thing. That’s a weapon.
That engine is the car’s real party piece. It has 360 horsepower and 450 newton metres of torque. To tur that power into speed in the most efficient way, AMG has developed a bespoke 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system for this car, which combined with the Speedshift DCT 7-speed sports transmission, gives you a 0 to 60 mph time of 4.6 seconds. And because it is only a four-banger you will do 40.9 mpg on the combined cycle while emitting 161 g/km of CO2. That is pretty much perfect.
The A45 AMG is distinguished over the normal Mercedes A Class models by the means of an AMG body kit consisting of revised front and rear bumpers, aero parts such as front splitter and rear diffuser, flared arches, and tall side skirts. The car rides on 18-inch AMG wheels and benefits form Sport suspension, which does make the ride a bit harsh, but has its uses when you are driving fast.
You can further customize your A45 with the AMG Aerodynamics package (£1,530), including a large front splitter with additional flics as well as an AMG rear aerofoil, or the AMG Performance Exhaust (£510) featuring 4 chrome tailpipes.
The interior features AMG sports seats, red nappa leather and red stitching, sport steering wheel, and sports trims. An AMG electronic display located between the instrument dials, DAB and Audio 20 with iPod and Bluetooth connectivity are all fitted as standard.
