Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG

Handing over the A45 baton, steve sutcliffe firmly believed the car’s next keeper would consider himself very lucky once the car’s obvious foibles had faded into the background. He was right. It’s unfortunate that AmG’s hot hatch should keeps its shortcomings in plain sight while concealing the good beneath buttons and circumstance. Only a mother could love the retrofitted spoiler that creaks like a shed door when the boot is slammed. the interior is no home run, either. AmG’s gear selector is small and the dash looks overly busy in carbonfibre check. then there’s the saggy drone of the four-pot, and its recalcitrance in default eco mode, while none of the auto ’box’s settings is entirely fulfilling.

topping it all is the unyielding ride, which thuds invasively over anything more mountainous than fallen acorns. It’s only when you find yourself enduring the buffeting without complaint that you know the car has burrowed beneath your skin. When they’re not jabbing you in the back, the A45’s springs and dampers are utterly committed to keeping you out of the weeds. Likewise the all-wheel drive system, which, while not a colluder in frilly, feelsome fun, is at least an mbA graduate in the business of adhesion.

On dry, empty roads, the A45 has the ability to reset what you consider to be the maximum speed sanely achievable. the reasons for this are twofold. On the one hand, when it really gets going and you don’t make a hash of the upshifts, the AmG is very fast indeed, while on the other, it is tremendously and almost blithely confidence inspiring. Yes, there are cheaper hot hatches that feel less aloof at half the speed, but they don’t share the A45’s build quality, which really does make it feel like you’re doing an asphalt rally in a swiss safe.

Of course, you’d expect that, given the car’s price the one foible it’s hard to see a way around. I’ve just decided to ignore it (and the low 20mpg returns) and concentrate on smelling the roses.

Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG

Price £37,845
Price as tested £43,665
Economy 22.9mpg
Faults Passenger airbag failure (fixed on recall)
Expenses New front tyre £275, first service £118.80 
Last seen  10.9.14