..:: AUTO REPORT AFRICA ::..
Related Articles
Agile and safe on country roads, ultra-dynamic on the racetrack: The Mercedes-Benz A 45 AMG presented in 2013 exceeded all expectations, and immediately captured the top position in its market. Nonetheless, this worldwide success is no reason for the sports car brand within Mercedes-Benz to rest on its laurels. On the contrary, for after extensive updating the Mercedes-AMG A 45 4MATIC now guarantees even more emotional appeal and driving pleasure. With a peak output of 280 kW and maximum torque of 475 Nm, the turbocharged AMG 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine once again comes top in the competitive line-up. The revised transmission ratios, aerodynamic fine-tuning and the new DYNAMIC SELECT driving modes familiar from the Mercedes-AMG GT raise performance to an even higher level. Driving dynamics can be further enhanced with optional extras in the guise of the AMG RIDE CONTROL sports suspension and the AMG DYNAMIC PLUS package.
The entry by Mercedes-AMG into the compact class, and therefore a completely new market segment, in 2013 was a brave move. But it has proved more than worthwhile: within a very short time the compact AMG models have been an impressive success story. The sporty and exciting driving experience plus an emotionally appealing design immediately impressed the dynamic and individualistic target group, and gained new customers for the sports car brand.
And Mercedes-AMG is still going full-throttle: “The A 45 still had so much potential that we felt compelled to realise it to the full. Our brand claim – Driving Performance – simply obliges us to,” says Florian Seidler, Co-CEO Mercedes-Benz South Africa & Executive Director Mercedes-Benz Cars.
Accordingly the development team at AMG carefully scrutinised every detail of this compact best-seller, whose designation Mercedes-AMG A 45 4MATIC follows the new nomenclature, and applied improvements wherever thorough examination found them to be appropriate for further increases in driving dynamics and enjoyment. The result is certainly impressive, and above all tangible when sitting at the sport steering wheel offering great grip: “Our Mercedes-AMG engineers have further refined our turbocharged four-cylinder to develop 280 kW and 475 Nm. This means that the Mercedes-AMG A 45 remains the world’s most powerful and dynamic compact sports model,” adds Seidler.
But that is not all. Modifications to the transmission, suspension, electronics, design and appointments have turned the compact sports model into a completely new car: In no other model in this class is true motor racing spirit so obvious as in the Mercedes-AMG A 45.
The power upgrade has lifted this extremely sporty compact into dimensions previously the province of higher vehicle classes: 100 km/h is already reached from a standstill in 4.2 seconds. This means that the new A 45 accelerates 0.4 seconds faster than its predecessor. At the same time, its exemplary fuel consumption has been kept at the level of the previous model: no other high-performance model in this class can match its NEDC fuel consumption from 6.9 litres per 100 kilometres (corresponds to 171 g/km CO2).
