2015 Mercedes-AMG A45, car review: Merc ups the ante with latest hot hatch

For anyone buying at the top end of the hot hatch market, this car has got to be on your list

The AMG A45 will hit 62mph in 4.2 seconds

If there’s one place where one-upmanship doesn’t seem vulgar, it’s in the hot hatch market. If everyone’s constantly trying to go faster than everyone else, that’s got to be good news for the punters.

There’s more to fun than just going fast, of course. But it’s a good start. Which gets the new Mercedes-AMG A45 off to a very good start, because it’ll hit 62mph in 4.2 seconds.

That’s 0.1 of a second faster than its key rival the Audi RS3. Funny, that.

The fun comes from a turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine that’s good for 376bhp and 350lb ft. It’s mated to a dual-clutch box whose seven ratios are spaced to make the most of all that output and whose shifts are even faster than the previous model’s.

Mercedes AMG A45 4Matic

Price £39,995; Engine 4cyls, 1991cc, turbocharged, petrol; Power 376bhp at 6000rpm; Torque 350lb ft at 2250-5000rpm; Gearbox 7-speed dual-clutch auto; Kerb weight 1555kg; Top speed 155mph; 0-62mph 4.2sec; Economy 40.9mpg (combined); CO2/tax band 162g/km, 27%

There’s a drive mode selector, too, with a variety of positions taking you from Comfort to Sport+. We headed straight for the latter, obviously, and came back grinning – the engine and box are perfectly matched for acceleration that’s as smooth as it is brutal, and the car’s whole suite of dynamic skills make it beautifully controllable and endlessly adjustable however hard you want to drive it.

Other beautiful things include the interior, whose quality of materials and finish is more in keeping with a premium exec than a hatchback of any kind. It’s impressively refined when you’re driving in Comfort mode, and ride quality is pretty epic for a car that can also handle the way the A45 does.

The interior's quality of materials and finish is more in keeping with a premium exec

Its handling gets better than ever, too, if you put your hand still deeper into your pocket for the optional AMG Dynamic Drive pack. This brings adaptive shocks and a limited-slip front diff to the party, and what a party – it plants itself more firmly than ever to the ground and locks on to its line round corners like a cheetah chasing down a gazelle.

It also adds a Race position to the drive mode selector. Because sometimes you just need a dial that goes up to eleven.

So it’s throwing everything at overhauling the RS3. And for the most part it’s succeeding.

But while AMG’s screaming four-pot is vast in its ability, the Audi has an extra cylinder and that gives it a certain something. A sense of occasion, perhaps.

Whatever that certain something is, it’s a something the Merc can’t quite match.

In addition, if touch-screen interfaces do it for you the A3 is the car to go for. But if sensational driving ability is top of your lift, this A-Class will certainly deliver.

The turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine is good for 376bhp and 350lb ft

Is it as usable every day as the RS3? We’d say no. Is it as cheap to buy as the Audi’s stablemate, the VW Golf R? Definitely no, by the thick end of ten large.

Those are two good reasons to think wisely before going out an buying an A45. But there are plenty of reasons to let your heart rule your head in this market too. So for anyone buying at the top end of the hot hatch market, this Merc has got to be on your list.