roadswerebuiltbeforeGeneralFrancowasevenborn,when
vehicleswerea lotnarrowerandslower.Withnotenoughroom
toputa wheelwrong,theattackmodeofchoiceisSportPlus,
Dynamics in Master,theshockabsorbersin Sportandthe
transmissioninmanual.
Tenkilometresdowntheroad,though,it’sbackintoDrive,
whichdoesafinejobholdingtheappropriategear,shifting
downjustintimeandmakingfulluseofall 7200rpm.The
in-between ESP channel encourages the odd lift-off tail-
wagginganticsaswellasa momentarytraceofexitoversteer,
which is all you feel comfortable with in an environment
dominated by blind corners, question-mark crests and
unannouncedsurfacechanges.
Atspeedsofupto120km/h,thesteelbrakeshavenoproblem
reelingusin,apexbyapex,butonthetrackwehadnoticedthat
pedaltravelandpressureareliabletoincreaseunderstress.
Theelectro-mechanicalrack-and-pinionsteeringisofthe
variable-effortandvariable-ratekind.Whiletheeffortchanges
progressively, the calibration alters from swift and stiff to
relaxedandbalancedin accordancewiththeselecteddrive
mode.Thelatterset-upisokayforcity-slickers,buta littletoo
vagueforcomradesinarms.
JustasBMWpromisedusnomoreundersteerandnomore
steeringfightwhentheyreleasedthelatestM135i,Mercedes
claimsa totallyneutralhandlingattitudeandzerotorque-steer
fortheAMG 45 S.Trueorfalse?Withanextra85kWwedgedin
betweenitsbroadbuttockscomparedtotheBee-Em,theAMG
ispardonedfora fewcentimetresofthird-gearundersteerat
thelimit.Althoughdiscreet,thetorquedistributionisnever
fullyisolatedfromourpalms,whichisa goodthingbecauseit
relaysinformation,notinterference.Numberstoenthral
The Specs
MERCEDES-AMGA45S
BODY 5-door,5-seathatchback
DRIVE all-wheel
ENGINE 1991ccinline-4,DOHC,16v,turbo
BOREX STROKE 83.0x 92.0mm
COMPRESSION 9.0:1
POWER 310kW@6750rpm
TORQUE 500Nm@5000-5250rpm
POWER/WEIGHT 185kW/tonne
TRANSMISSION 8-speeddual-clutchauto
WEIGHT 1550kg
SUSPENSION
struts,coilsprings,adaptivedampers,anti-roll
bar(f);multi-links,coilsprings,adaptive
dampers,anti-rollbar(r)
L/ W/H 4445/1850/1412mm
WHEELBASE 2729mm
TRACKS 1597/1558mm(f/r)
STEERING electricallyassistedrack-and-pinion
BRAKES 330mm360mmventilatedventilateddiscs,discs,six-pistonsingle-pistoncaliperscalipers(f);(r)
WHEELS 19.0x 8.5-inch(f/r)
TYRES 245/35ZR19(f/r);MichelinPilotSport4 S
PRICE $90,000(est)
PROS Wildperformance;DriftMode;chassistech
CONS Optimisticconsumptionfigure;brakelongevity
STARR ATI N G^11112LikealmostallDCT-equippedcars,thisonecanbecaught
outbyasudden changeofplan,likeanabortedovertaking
manoeuvre.Wedidfortheblinkofaneyeregistera fainttrace
ofthrottlelagthatneverreturnedbeyond3500rpm.
WouldI spendmyownmoneyonthehottesthatchonthe
market?Probablynot.ButI’dconsidertheCLAAMG 45 wagon,
whichismorepracticalandlessconspicuous.Incombination
withthependingplug-inelectric-hybridpackage,it maysoon
eclipseeventheC63onmypersonaldesirabilitychart.
Asit stands,the310kWMercedeshasnorealrivals.TheBMW
M135idoesn’treallycompete,theM2ishalfa secondsloweroff
themarktostartwith,theAudiRS3islostinreverieandtoo
uninvolvingforitsowngood,andtheAlpineA110isa different
animalaltogether.
Let’sfaceit,aqualityfive-seaterthatcanoutsprintaC63
AMGcostingtwiceasmuchhasgottohavea lotgoingforit.
TheultimateA-Classcertainlychiselleda broadgrinintomy
face,whichdulyfrozeinanticipationofahopefullyprompt
encoreoneithertheroadorracetrack.IT CERTAINLY
CHISELLED A BROAD
GRIN INTO MY FACE
ABOVE
AMG’shottest hatch
isa weapon on the
track,but can be
remarkably civilised
outonthe road, even
overpoor surfaces➜62 september 2019 whichcar.com.au/motor