New Power Generation

AMG distils all it knows into the a45 s. We take it to the toughest road we know

- Andy Enright

Model Mercedes-AMG A45 S

Engine 1991cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v, turbo

Max power 310kW @ 6750rpm

Max torque 500Nm @ 5000-5250rpm

Transmission 8-speed dual-clutch

Weight 1675kg

0-100km/h 3.9.sec (tested)

Economy 15.4L/100km (tested)

Price $93,600

On Sale Now

The road vanishes. It was there a second or two ago, but now it’s gone, lost in a riotous dazzle camouflage of hard shadows. The sun strobes through the eucalypts over my right shoulder as the car dives into a corner whose shape is gently suggested by a treeline that marches and merges onto a crest. The Eildon –Jamieson road is this for nearly 60km. It’s not the most scenic of Australia’s great driving roads, and nor is it the most varied, but in terms of sustained intensity of challenge, it could well be in a class of one. That’s why we’re here.

Bringing the old Mercedes-AMG A45 to this scarred and sutured bitumen would have been a miserable experience. The first truly rapid A-Class was never treated to the sort of chassis engineering expertise it probably deserved. In some regards, it felt like a throwback AMG, all engine and drama but without the requisite subtlety to cut it as a top-drawer driver’s car. The car you see here is not that car. This is the second-generation model and it takes all of a hundred metres to figure out that it’s cut from a very different cloth.