Mercedes-AMG A45 W176
The most powerful production four-cylinder, daily edition.
AMG's first hot hatch: 360 PS from two litres, and all-wheel drive to make it usable.
17 reviewers · 27 videos · 4 hours watched
Reviewers strongly agree on its performance, but split on handling and fun to drive.
across 17 reviewers
"the car doesn't lean at all it feels really glued to the road... you go into a sweeping corner and the car just doesn't budge"
Inside Lane · ▶ 10:01"In this wheater, and on winter tires, there's a lot of understeer."
AutoWeek · ▶ 6:32"I don't think I've ever experienced a hot hatchback that just takes challenging roads in its stride like this"
Inside Lane · ▶ 10:49"It's just as you'd expect from an F1 team. All very impressive. And all a bit dull."
Top Gear · ▶ 9:50"it kind of feels more or well dampened uh or better dampened than say the Golf... the way uh soaks over bumps is it's pretty impressive given that this is an AMG car."
EMBA KUB MOTORING · ▶ 25:00"Its lack of comfort makes it unsuitable for longer distances."
AutoWeek · ▶ 5:21"it's the cheapest car here and the best value with standard kits such as adjustable suspension and a panoramic sunroof"
Drive.com.au · ▶ 9:08"this particular car is wait for it 50,000 pounds"
Which? · ▶ 3:45Performance
5.0/517 of 17 reviewersstrong consensus“the 62 mile an hour barrier can be demolished in just 4.6 seconds”
positive · Car and Driving - Car Reviews · ▶ 5:29“it was the fastest accelerating hot hatch money could buy and it's now 2017 and it is still the fastest accelerating hot hatch money can buy”
positive · Autocar · ▶ 2:05“0 to 100 in just 4.2 seconds that's faster than the previous generation C63 AMG V8”
positive · Drive.com.au · ▶ 2:06Handling
4.0/517 of 17 reviewerssplit“the car doesn't lean at all it feels really glued to the road... you go into a sweeping corner and the car just doesn't budge”
positive · Inside Lane · ▶ 10:01“if there's quicker point-to-point Country Road choice on sale in this country today then I can't for the moment think what it might be”
positive · Car and Driving - Car Reviews · ▶ 12:25“The steering itself is really sharp pin sharp and accurate um and it's quite faithful and communicative through the corners”
mixed · Drive.com.au · ▶ 3:49Fun to drive
4.0/517 of 17 reviewerssplit“I don't think I've ever experienced a hot hatchback that just takes challenging roads in its stride like this”
positive · Inside Lane · ▶ 10:49“driving it in real world conditions like this at the speed limit is still a complete Joy.”
positive · ReDriven · ▶ 3:14“the sound the sound is phenomenal. One one complaint I had about the new 45s... it just doesn't have the sound anymore. And it loses uh a lot of uh the character that this OG1 had.”
positive · EMBA KUB MOTORING · ▶ 18:36Daily drivability
3.5/517 of 17 reviewerssplit“Its lack of comfort makes it unsuitable for longer distances.”
critical · AutoWeek · ▶ 5:21“it kind of feels more or well dampened uh or better dampened than say the Golf... the way uh soaks over bumps is it's pretty impressive given that this is an AMG car.”
positive · EMBA KUB MOTORING · ▶ 25:00“the ride is actually quite acceptable better in fact to my mind than that of the standard A-Class”
positive · Car and Driving - Car Reviews · ▶ 8:24Value
2.5/516 of 17 reviewerssplit“this particular car is wait for it 50,000 pounds”
critical · Which? · ▶ 3:45“it's the cheapest car here and the best value with standard kits such as adjustable suspension and a panoramic sunroof”
positive · Drive.com.au · ▶ 9:08“if you do end up comparing this car to lesser hot hatches make sure that you're factoring in the benefits of the five-door body style auto transmission and four-wheel drive system”
positive · Car and Driving - Car Reviews · ▶ 27:07The W176 A45 arrived in 2013 as AMG's first hot hatch, built around the M133: a 1,991 cc four with a twin-scroll turbo, making 360 PS (355 hp) and 450 Nm. At launch it was the most powerful series-production four-cylinder in the world.
Mechanically it is a front-drive platform made to work as all-wheel drive. AMG 4MATIC drives the front axle until a multi-plate clutch brings in the rear, and can send up to half the torque back. There is no side-to-side vectoring at the rear axle. The gearbox is the seven-speed AMG Speedshift dual-clutch, and it is the only transmission offered.
The 2015 facelift is the dividing line. Power went to 381 PS (376 hp) and 475 Nm, the gear ratios were shortened, and the AMG Dynamic Plus package added a mechanical locking front differential, adaptive dampers and a Race mode. A facelift car with Dynamic Plus is the most complete version of the W176.
How it drives: traction and straight-line pace first, with a chassis that grips rather than plays.
Where it places in the lineage: the car that set the A45 formula — the biggest-output four-cylinder on sale, a dual-clutch gearbox, all-wheel drive — which the W177 then pushed much further. It was never sold in the US; the CLA 45 carried the same drivetrain there.
Hear it in the reviewer’s words
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Never sold in the US, which got this drivetrain in the CLA 45; the figures here are European, and the power shown is the launch car's 360 PS. The 2015 facelift raised output to 381 PS (376 hp) and 475 Nm, shortened the gear ratios, and added the AMG Dynamic Plus package with a mechanical front locking differential, adaptive dampers and a Race mode. The 4MATIC system drives the front axle until the rear clutch engages and cannot vector torque across the rear axle.