A for Atom bomb: 2024 Mercedes-AMG A45 S review

The tortuous hillside above the Simon’s Town Naval Base is as good a venue as any to test the 2024 Mercedes-AMG A45 S. The controversial home of the SA Navy’s gun-less, multi-billion-Rand frigates, Affalterbach’s newest hammer is lacking no firepower as it charges up the toothy, switch-backed mountain pass known as Red Hill.

We know the 1 991-cc turbocharged engine in the 2024 Mercedes-AMG A45 S is no slouch. After all, it’s won numerous Engine of the Year awards and courtesy of 310 kW and 500 Nm, it’s the most powerful (kW to cc) in the world. Against our test equipment it ran a zero to 100 km/h sprint in just 3.95 seconds. That’s bang on the manufacturer’s claim of 3.9 seconds.

2024 MERCEDES-AMG A45 S

However, Mercedes-AMG now claims stiffer springs and recalibration to 4Matic+ all-wheel drive and eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox. These enhance body control and endow it with even better acceleration out of corners, even on tricky roads. Well, then we’ve definitely come to right place to shake it down.

There’s a foggy, listlessness hanging in the air. The sun is hooded high in the sky like a stage light shimmering behind a thick gel. Thankfully it’s a quiet weekend afternoon, so the 2024 Mercedes-AMG A45 S has the run of the place. I thumb the starter button, hear the four-pot burble into life and set off in search of enlightenment.

HARD AND UNCOMPROMISING

Immediately, I note the 2024 Mercedes-AMG A45 S has a particularly hard ride quality. Flick the clever steering wheel-mounted AMG controller into Comfort and there’s no discernible difference in ride harshness. This car is clearly all about smashing road imperfections like its Hammer namesake from the ‘80s.

Beautiful AMG bucket seats are surprisingly comfortable, even if a little limited in their adjustment. Likewise, you’ll need petite fingers to handle the steering wheel buttons that control the MBUX infotainment and driver’s display. However, don’t think because the 2024 Mercedes-AMG A45 S is a performance car that it has some pared-back, austere cabin. Far from it, you have more apps (like AMG Track Pace) and mood lighting options than you could possibly ever grow tired of.  

HAMMER TIME

Moreover, the 2024 Mercedes-AMG A45 S may be the most affordable and smallest AMG in the family (starting from R1 296 509) but don’t let that sway you. It’s like Cheslin Kolbe, it’s concentrated speed. And that much better for being small … and its boing everywhere like rubber man Kolbe, too.

When you set off, it feels like a totally different proposition to any other hot hatch on the market. There’s a very different man/machine interface happening in the driver’s seat. The 2024 Mercedes-AMG A45 S’s steering setup is light and spry. Perhaps lacking the tactility of others. Textured transitions sent up from the road through the tyres to the chassis aren’t so much spoken as shouted to the driver. It’s not bad, it just takes getting used to.

WILD CHILD

Raging Cape wildfires and flash floods have ravaged the Red Hill tarmac in 2024. This is evidenced by scarred sections of tarmac that are rough as guts. But that’s no challenge for the A45 S’s 4Matic+ four-wheel drive system. It gives you the confidence to stitch corners together with incisive speed and steering inputs. As firm as the whole shooting match feels, it is immune to ungainly pitch and roll.

Soon, I’m rolling into Red Hill’s challenging furled bends, leaning on hot, sticky Michelin Pilot Sport rubber (wrapping 19-inch light-weight alloys) and everything feels right! The brakes respond through excellent pedal feel, and the Speedshift dual-clutch gearbox moves through its cogs like Excalibur swinging a sword. I fall into Red Hill’s flow with relish.

RATTLE AND HUM

Rejigged exhaust geometry adds a guttural bellow and ‘popcorn’ effect on the overrun. The 2.0-litre no longer sounds like a thin wallflower in the middle revs either. Then, on full-throttle upshifts there’s an intoxicating boom from the quad pipes.

It sounds like distant canon fire. Perhaps the locals think the navy has finally got round to fitting guns to SAS Spioenkop. Acoustically alone there’s a fantastic intensity to how the 2024 Mercedes-AMG A45 S drives. And, as mentioned before, the 4Matic+ ensures precious little can unsettle the chassis.

THE VERDICT

I could jounce up and down Red Hill for hours, grinning from ear to ear. But we must settle atop the hill at the Scala Battery that keeps watch over the industrious naval town. Time to draw our final conclusion. To say the 2024 Mercedes-AMG A45 S is more adept at hooning than commuting would be the drollest understatement imaginable. Dressed as our test unit is in Street Style Edition regalia, the matte silver A45 S makes no pretence about attracting attention.

Except now it head bangs on the dance floor, too. This car is imbibed with a hardcore driving ambition, which elevates the 2024 Mercedes-AMG A45 S out of mere hot hatch territory. It has the flair, ferocity and uncompromising focus of a true Mercedes-AMG. That’s why Affalterbach’s smallest performance car is one of its absolute best.

THE FIGURES

• Best for: Race car for the road, obscene speed.
• Not so sure: Harsh ride quality and temptation to blast everywhere can get tiresome.
• 2024 Mercedes-AMG A45 S 4Matic+
• Engine: 1 991 cc 4-cyl turbo petrol
• Power: 310 kW, 500 Nm
• Performance: 3.95 sec 0-100 km/h (tested), 3.90 sec (claimed)
• Gearbox: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
• Economy: 10.1 l/100 km (tested), 8.0 l/100 km (claimed/combined)
• Tyres: Michelin Pilot Sport 245/35/R19
• Price: R1 296 509

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