Now Mercedes AMG might be synonymous with big, brawny V8 sports sedans but there is
no shortage of excitement around this car.
It’s the new second generation CLA 45 and we’ll see it in Australian showrooms early
next year.
The CLA has been a game changer for AMG, opening the door to a much larger following than before
and driving record sales.
For take two there is more power, greater performance and a broadened on-road skill
set, partially brought about by changes to the donor car – the CLA passenger sedan.
The headline item for this car is undoubtedly its engine.
The world’s most powerful series production four cylinder.
You’re getting 310 kilowatts and 500 newton meters which converts to a nought to one hundred
time of four seconds flat.
The fire power is supported by six piston brakes up front, a stiffened body shell, wider
front track and re-engineered steering rack.
There’s also a new all-wheel drive system with a torque control function which electronically
varies the amount of power sent to each rear wheel.
While inside the baby AMG picks up the latest infotainment, tech and safety.
Now yes, there is a lot of focus on those performance enhancements but on the road there
has been a real concerted effort to make this car more rounded than before, and it shows.
The cabin isn’t quite as noisy as the original.
The ride isn’t as harsh and the engine has lost that elasticity that really defined the
original.
You’ve got an eight speed automatic that’s a lot smoother with its shifts as well.
So, all in all you’re getting more performance but you’re also getting more comfort and
that’s a good thing.
Up the ante a little bit and it is incredible just how effortless it is to hustle the CLA
45 along a back road.
You’ve got all that torque from down low on the rev range, you’ve got a really effective
all-wheel drive system and some really handy electronic parameters which mean that this,
kind of, really feels out of its comfort zone.
And on a couple of the hill climbs that we’ve encountered today, I don’t reckon there’s
many cars out there that would be much quicker than this.
Everything is just so easy.
Downsides for the road?
The low speed ride is still jiggly at best and the CLA is still prone to some torque
steer under heavy acceleration, which lends it an inherent front driven vibe.
But that said, there is a new found charm to the all-wheel drive system.
Behold drift mode.
What you’re getting is two multi disk clutches on the rear axle, one for each wheel.
And if all of that sounds familiar that’s because it’s very similar to the system
employed on the Ford Focus RS.
And, just like that car, the CLA 45 is quite partial to a little bit of drifting.
It works and yes, it still feels inherently like a front driven car but it really does
give this sports car a whole another dimension; a lot of fun on a closed road.
Elsewhere it feels clinical and planted on a circuit.
Unbelievable just how competent this is for a road car to be doing the sort of things
that it does do on a circuit.
Yes, it’s not quite as light footed and agile as the A45 but it does everything up
to, sort of, 95% just as well.
The thing that I keep coming away from with the CLA 45 is just how easy it is to exploit
speed from.
It feels planted, it feels secure and yet, with the safety net of that all-wheel drive
system, it’s a car that you can really, confidently push.
And its dancing around on circuit and I am barely breaking a sweat.
With the changes to the all-wheel drive system, a more linear power delivery and way more
technology, the CLA 45 really punches above its weight as a junior sports event.
And I can’t see any reason why it won’t continue to be one of AMGs best sellers.