Alright, show of hands: who didn't even remember that this car is in the game?
I, for one, forgot. The 2013 Mercedes-Benz A 45 AMG 4Matic has a knack for eluding attention, even if taken out of the context of an e–sports focused game that largely ignores German sleepers. It doesn't have flared fenders, bonnet bulges, or fat exhaust pipes that are the rare but typical giveaways of souped up German performance, and even IF they're there, they're so subtle that I can't tell at all. I mean, for gosh's sake, even the "4Matic" in its name just makes it sound like it has a 4 speed automatic gearbox geared towards grandpas driving from the retirement home to their graves during morning peak hour jams, too scared to pass a cooperative cyclist. It simply isn't a shouty car that wants to be noticed. In fact, the only thing that even hints at the enthusiasts' intent underneath would be the utterly ridiculous 19 inch wheels optional on the AMG, an inch up from the standard items. I'm sure there are more giveaways to the trained eye, but by and large, the A45 is so good at making me forget that there's a 355HP (264kW) AWD hatchback lurking in this game that, even if I do remember its existence, it just ends up as background prop to populate a photo featuring another car.
At this point, I might become the GTS' version of SomePlayaDude, and my JCW Countryman is the Cayman GT4.
...if you didn't get that reference, you really ought to check out FH5's COTW thread, which has been pretty great so far.
So, the A45 AMG has got insane performance and a talent for flying under the radar. Sounds exactly like the sort of car we here at Car of the Week are all about, then?
To drive, the A45 AMG shows similar grace to its beautiful interior. Despite packing 50 more HP than the next most powerful hatch, the FK2 Civic Type R, the A45 never sweats putting all its power down to the road at any moment it's asked to in the dry. Of course, it's got AWD which helps to do just that—that's what the "4Matic" in its name stands for and I definitely knew that before writing this review okay?! But, even by AWD standards, the A45 AMG puts down power gracefully and effortlessly like a Mercedes ought to. I never got any inkling of the car struggling, any tyre chirps under power from any corner or anything of the sort, that would signify the car struggling to put down its power. Rather, the car simply understeers vehemently when the throttle pedal is pressed too much, putting all the cards back in your hands by forcing you to lift off that way, making the driver feel like the inept tool in the whole situation while it barely breaks its graceful demeanour. And don't think it puts power down neatly by hiding its 355HP behind a peaky powerband either, as a turbocharged 1,991cc engine having to make 178HP per litre is well entitled to do, because this M133 Inline 4 makes its peak torque of 450Nm (331.9lbf⋅ft) from 2,500rpm, and holds it all the way in a plateau till the power curve overtakes the torque table at 5,252rpm.
As you can probably already piece together by this point, the price to pay for that graceful power and effortless destruction of its hot hatch rivals is in... well, the price tag, yes, but much more so in the corners, I'd argue. The A45 may have 50 more HP to the next hatch in the game, but it's also 175kg (386lbs) heavier as well while costing around 50% more than an FK2 CTR. It is, after all, an understated luxury cruiser instead of a shouty track toy, and nowhere is that more clearly shown than in how soft the suspension setup is, which in my opinion is much more damning on track than its 1,555kg (3,428lbs) mass. It is definitely not a car set up with any sporting intent in mind, with just enough composure to make sure the car doesn't roll or spin out, nothing more. What that translates to in layman terms is "horrible, never ending understeer", which, when further translated into legal speak, means that "if you try to sue Mercedes for an accident in the A45 AMG, know that you don't have a case at all: the car was stable and composed; you clearly went in too fast". This I find is such an oddity, because the only telltale sign of this car's performance I can pick out is the ridiculously large wheels and accompanying low profile tyres barely hugging them, which you would think was intentionally fitted for more precise control and feel for the suspension so that they can work some real magic. On the contrary, the suspension is just... limp. Look, if I'm going to end up with a limp car anyway, can I just have softer, normal sized tyres and wheels and a stiffer suspension instead of the other way around? If you're going to make a car look understated and stealthy, why give it ridiculous looking wheels and puncture prone tyres?
To be fair, the A45 AMG isn't hopelessly terrible in the corners. To borrow a recurring quote from Pickle, the A45 is "still better than the MiTo" in the suspension department. The A45 as a whole doesn't excessively squirm, roll, or seemingly contort and decompose when pushed hard in a corner; it very much keeps its composure. It's just that there's annoyingly enough give in the suspension to take away any and all sense of control and feedback when this big red metal slug is thrown hard into a turn, and there's only a tiny friction circle to work with from the 235mm tyres up front. All that results in is the most frustrating kind of understeer that would kill any hope of a car becoming an enthusiast's pick: the kind you can't do a damn thing about other than to sit on your ARTICO man-made leather seat and wait in excruciating pain while the car slows down enough and regains grip to pull itself out of the sand trap. It has an okay initial turn–in, but at longer, wider corners that make up most paved racetracks, the A45 will struggle, with its unwillingness becoming uncomfortably clear at high speed sweepers such as the Schumacher S of Nürb GP.
Despite the 40:60 torque split and light rear end of the A45 might lead one to believe, the A45 has zero tail happiness to help with that understeer. In fact, it feels like it actively hates that side of itself and fights to hide it from the rest of the world, and it's very successful in that regard. Even in the few off road whoopsies I've had which has broken out the rear end, the car corrects itself almost instantly even when encouraged otherwise with throttle input and steering in the direction of the slide. I'd say the car is idiot proof if idiots can be trusted with a 64,000 Credit, 355HP, 250km/h capable, flame spitting monster.
That said, once you get used to braking early and taking corners slowly, there aren't many hot hatches in the game that can even dream of keeping up with the unbridled power of the Merc. In fact, I think only the GR Yaris can beat the A45 in lap times around Tsukuba, going by Alex's hot lap videos. Combined with its idiot proof handling, understated styling, and that pleasant interior, the A45 AMG is a tool for a comically casual destruction of the hot hatch competition. It is for someone who's had enough of trying, and just wants to win. As much as it's an unsportsmanlike thing to say, I think I'm at the age where I can understand that mentality. Even more frightening than that however, is that I truly think that there's a lot of optimisation that can be done handling wise with just its suspension setup that can unlock even more speed from the Red Slug. I mean, a much older R34 GT-R that is similarly AWD, comparable weight distribution, but with less power, more mass, and even softer suspension does just effortlessly leave the A45 in the dust around Tsukuba. Even though the A45 is a gentlemen's nuke, I think it is more than capable of becoming a genuine sports car if tuned right. Someone just has to take the initiative after being reminded that it exists in the game and told of its untapped potential.
