Ah My God!

The very words I exclaimed when I got behind the steering wheel and mashed the throttle to the floor and then continued to discover how close the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S is to being the perfect hot-hatch

- Abhik Das

The first time I drove this car was at the NATRAX facility which is currently India's best proving ground for automotive testing and there we pushed it to its top speed, driving it at its very limit on the banked oval but then, not everyone has access to a high speed facility like that so we had to experience the newest member of the high-performance Mercedes-AMG family for India, the A 45 S hot hatch on real roads. After all, a street legal car will have to do duty on the streets and if at all, it will also have to fulfil its role as a hatchback. But first, let's establish the fact that despite being a hatchback, the A 45 S doesn't conform to the general understanding of such a car. It's not your regular city runabout and it definitely isn't affordable either. Although, once you change your perspective from owning a hatchback to owning one from Mercedes-AMG then the price tag starts making more sense.

Likes Aesthetics, performance, price

Dislikes Stiff ride quality, slow-speed drivability

No prizes for guessing the origins of the A 45 S and to transform the humble A-Class hatchback big air into this feisty looking AMG, Mercedes swathed on this bright yellow paint with an option of few more colours and then optimised it aerodynamically with scoops and splitters on the front bumper with optional winglets on the sides for added stability and downforce. The Panamericana grille remains the centrepiece of the front end as other AMG cars and a set of adaptive AMG suspension helps lower the car to get this sporty stance. 19-inch alloy wheels look dope and expose the massive and powerful AMG brakes while the rear is summed up with quad exhausts to announce its racy intent.