Nigel Roebuck
Alonso & Mclaren reunited, Vettel’s woes, Brundle’s thoughts Amidst all the chaos and uncertainty of F1, there remain certain inalienable truths, and one of them is that every new Ferrari…
Back in 1983, Fiat got serious about hot hatches and introduced the Strada 130tc whose 2-litre engine, as implied, produced 130bhp. At the time it was the most potent car of its kind. And I don’t think you’d have found anyone alive then who would believe that 37 years later, the bar for the 2-litre fast hatchback would now be set beyond 400bhp. It wasn’t until the 1990s that Ferrari offered a standard production road car with more power than Mercedes-Benz offers today in a compact hatchback.
The Mercedes-AMG A45S is an extraordinary car, packing 416bhp under its stubby bonnet and distributing it to the four corners via a whipcrack-quick eight-speed double-clutch gearbox. Here is a shopping car that between rest and 62mph will put clear air between itself and an Aston Martin DB11. Thanks to a typically uncompromising AMG chassis and its compact dimensions, the result is one of the quickest point-to-point cars of my recent acquaintance. And yet other slower hatches are more engaging to drive, a Honda Civic Type-R for instance. The A45 is mightily powerful, but it’s also heavy at 1635kg and, at over £50,000, more expensive than a Porsche Cayman.
I’d probably take it over its only direct rival, the Audi RS3. For most people, a VW Golf R and £15,000 in the bank is a better bet.
Mercedes-AMG A45S
Price £50,570
Engine 2.0 litres, 4 cylinders, turbocharged
Power 415bhp at 6750rpm
Weight 1435kg
Power to weight 253bhp per tonne
Transmission eight-speed double clutch, four-wheel drive
0-60mph 3.9sec
Top speed 168mph
Economy 32.5mpg
CO₂ 192g/km
Verdict Rapid, but better options exist