Review – Scorching hot hatch the Mercedes-AMG A45 S burns all its rivals

Welcome this week to a car which is both the most powerful hot hatchback ever made – and the most expensive too.

It’s powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine that produces a staggering 416bhp, yet it ticks over quietly and smoothly in traffic.

Meet the Mercedes-AMG A45 S.

The German firm makes an S and a standard 382bhp version of the car, but we’re only getting the full-fat S in the UK which costs a rather scary £50,570.

That’s plenty enough to pay for an A-Class hatchback, however much performance it has.

Our test car, however, is an A45 S Plus which adds adaptive dampers, an aerodynamic package, Burmester sound system and a few other bits and bobs.

Yours for £56,570.

That puts this Merc up against some very substantial opposition that includes BMW’s stunning M2 Competition, but you’re certainly not going to be disappointed by the car’s performance as it’ll leave your eyes as wide open as the price.

Not surprisingly, but to the disappointment of your local tyre shop, the A45 S is four-wheel drive via Mercedes’ eight-speed double- clutch transmission which, thanks to a new rear differential that incorporates two multi-disc clutches, can send as much as 50% of the engine’s torque to the rear wheels.

A Drift mode is utterly pointless for the public road

The many driver modes available include an Individual setting that allows you to tailor your own selection of steering, throttle response and other factors.

A Drift mode is also available which is utterly pointless for the public road. Launch control is standard and that’s another one for the race track only, please.

This is a very fast car and if you think about it simply in performance terms the A45 S is good value for money.

It has a top speed of 168mph and using the aforementioned launch control it will do 0-62mph in 3.9sec which puts it into company with supercars and not four-door hatchbacks that will take your family shopping or on holiday.

That job the A45 S will do, but if those journeys involve rough road surfaces then your family or friends will not thank you.

The ride comfort isn’t that bad considering the big wheels, brakes and sports-orientated suspension set-up, especially in the Comfort setting.

But what is almost unbearable is the tyre noise on certain surfaces. On some roads that we drove the car on it was virtually impossible to hear the audio system over the racket.

Mercedes has thrown even more at the car’s already impressive interio

Grip, even on damp roads, is quite astounding. The steering has loads of feel and the way the car catapults itself out of corners as the four-wheel-drive system and traction control manipulate the torque is astounding.

This car has giant-killing performance.

The A-Class in its cheapest form is a class act, yet Mercedes has thrown even more at the car’s already impressive interior for this big-buck and big-bang version.

Heated sports seats are standard while our Plus-spec car adds leather and also brushed aluminium that looks excellent alongside the gloss black plastic on the rest of the dashboard.

Our Plus-spec car adds leather and also brushed aluminium that looks excellent alongside the gloss black plastic on the rest of the dashboard

It’ll leave rivals staring at its tailpipe

I’ve seen a car in yellow with matching stitching inside plus some yellow detailing and it looked even better inside and out than our grey test vehicle. If you’re going to buy a car as extreme as this one you might as well go the whole hog.

The A45 S, despite its prodigious performance, is still a highly practical car. There is plenty of head and legroom in the back for even tall adults. The boot is the same size as all A-Classes at 370 litres and there are a good number of storage cubby holes dotted around the cabin.

The A45 S is most definitely the car for the committed Mercedes-Benz fan who happens also to love the concept of having the fastest hot hatch around.

It’ll eat rivals like the Honda Civic Type R and Renault Megane RS Trophy for breakfast.

For the rest of us we’d be paying too much money for performance that we’d not be able to use on the public road… or at least not very often.