Mercedes-Benz got serious last year with the new A-Class. “A like attack” was the motto and the former carriage for seniors became a hot hatch. Whether right or wrong – I don’t want to discuss that anymore at this point. The A-Class will go its way as a compact car. With the new top model of the series - or in other words, with the new entry-level model from the Mercedes sports car department AMG, the Swabians are now demonstrating how serious they were about the “attack”.

Power plant compact

With 360 hp, the A 45 AMG plays well above the Golf GTI league. The only competitors for the crown in the category “most powerful hot hatch” are others: a BMW M135i or a – currently no longer available – Audi RS3. The upcoming Audi S3 also does not achieve the performance values ​​of the most powerful A-Class.

360 PS HotHatch - 250 km / h fast

This is how the manufacturer describes it:

“..an agile and emotional high-performance vehicle for urban life.”

“…extraordinary combination of sporty driving experience, extravagant design and maximum individuality..”

“..a lot of driving fun with four cylinders..”

• displacement: 1.991 ccm³
• Design type: 4-cylinder in-line turbo engine
• torque:  450 Nm - 2.250 / 5.000 revolutions
• Drive:  7-speed double clutch all-wheel drive

Turbo pressure in all positions

AMG is celebrating its debut in the world of compact cars with the most powerful two-liter four-cylinder turbo engine for series vehicles. 360 PS is a powerful word in this vehicle class and the performance ratio per liter of displacement (180PS / liter) surpasses many big sports car names. In addition to the top performance of the small four-cylinder, it is above all the massive torque of 450 Nm between 2.250 and 5.000 revolutions that puts a grin on the face of sporty drivers.

As with all AMG models, the four-cylinder, which is rather cute for AMG standards, is assembled by AMG by hand. And because you stand by quality, the badges with the fitter's lettering also stick on the A-Class engines from AMG. One man, one engine. The slogan still applies!

Chassis perfection

There are competitors who also put more than 300 hp on the road via the front axle - to the delight of tire dealers, to the frustration of owners when it rains and other road conditions that are not ideal. The Kamm's circle you don't get angular and so the front axle can only do one thing, even with compact vehicles: set the direction or bring the power to the ground. AMG had all-wheel drive in their models, only recently in the new one E63 AMG 4matic presented as an option - for the new A-Class, the power experts from Affalterbach could no longer avoid using the all-wheel drive as the “base”. And the decision was right. She was good. The A 45 AMG has no traction problems, it simply lunges forward whenever there is a demand for performance. The accelerator pedal is hammered firmly on the floorboard and the chick in the AMG nest claws decisively into the asphalt. This works not only in a straight line, but also in curves. Especially in curves. Nervous reactions are foreign to the chassis. Idiot-proof - the AMG men don't like to hear that, so I prefer to describe it as: unproblematic and confident - no matter who turns the steering wheel.

In principle, on country roads you are in constant danger of losing your driver's license during your lifetime - the 360 ​​hp makes you far too happy and makes it too easy for your pilot to bring the full power of the engine onto the road.

Impressions and emotions

It therefore only made sense to experience the real talents of the over-A class on the racetrack. I know the Nürburgring and Hockenheim very well - I don't really want to know the Sachsenring and the Bilster Berg.

And on this completely new race track in the no man's land between Kassel and Hanover, I was able to check on a closed-off track how serious the sporty claim of the A-Class in the AMG variant really is.

ESP off, the automatic transmission to “Sport” and the helmet is supported on the bucket seat. If you now feel the foot on the accelerator, you will catapult the A-Class to 4.6 km / h in 100 seconds. The exhaust system trumpets in a sound that is unusual for four-cylinder engines. He hums, he sneezes, he hisses. Grumbling to hissing, you let the A45 fly over the crests and change curves of the new roller coaster on Bilster Berg.

The professional racing driver Jan Seyfarth leads us over the right line on Bilster Berg and behind the big brother of the A-Class, the SLS, we are allowed to get a little closer to the limit of the little AMG with every lap. And this shows one thing above all:

The limit is drawn with a buttery line. No nasty reactions as soon as you get over the grip limit of the tires. On the racetrack, the A 45 AMG confirms what it had already indicated on the country road:

In the field of “small, wild compact athletes” the A45 AMG has the talent to become a big one! 

And finally ...

A for attack. The A 45 AMG is almost as impressive as it is bold among the sporty compacts. However, especially as Edition One, his make-up for the warpath simply looks “too much”. The wet dream of post-pubescent driving license newbies will probably remain a wish that cannot be refinanced as the A 45 AMG. And that's just as well. The purchase price of €49.682,50 ensures a simple, financial selection among prospective buyers.

The A 45 AMG personally impressed me enormously. Never before have four cylinders in a compact car created so much pressure and fun on a race track.

Oh:

The A45 gets its name from the “performance level” of its drive – it is “just like that” between a 400 and 500 Mercedes.