Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG

There are very few things that can get me out at 0530 hours on a Saturday morning after a tiring week. A 2.0 litre turbocharged petrol sedan with AWD is certainly one of them. The rally enthusiast in me is smiling – Mercedes-Benz has used the Japanese formula to build a performance car based on a regular front-wheel-drive sedan.

Clear skies, an empty stretch of nice twisty tarmac and we try to find out if the CLA 45 AMG with the most powerful inline-four production engine in the world has all the performance that you will need to acknowledge it as an AMG.

The CLA 45 AMG is not the kind of brute that we are used to from the performance division of Mercedes-Benz. It gets all the necessary visual elements to validate that it is a performance car, but it is more of a piece of art and that is not usual with AMG cars.

The front is similar to that of the A-Class, only more aggressive and without the much talked about ‘star’ grille. Part of the AMG bodykit is the silver front air dam with huge air intakes on either side, to help get more air to the intercoolers.

Mercedes calls the CLA a four-door coupe because of its sloping roofline. Visually it is very appealing, however it comes with a drawback which we will discuss with the interiors. The frameless doors speak of its sporty nature and then there are the red brake callipers peeking through the five-spoke AMG alloy wheels that land the final blow to anyone who doubts its pedigree.

For the first time Charles and I are in total agreement about a car’s design; both of us think that the rear of the CLA is of one the prettiest sights possible, although there is a hue and cry over it globally.

The interior layout is like any modern Merc based on the MFA platform, with rotary air vents and tablet sized LCD display. The gear lever though has moved from the American-style stalk behind the steering wheel to a short stick in the traditional place.

At first glance, the interiors are overwhelmingly sporty with Recaro racing seats, aluminium inserts on all-black interiors, red seat belts and bold red stitching for pretty much everything including door trims, steering wheel (that also has alcantara on it, mind), dashboard and the bucket seats. Look closely though and you will notice that everything is not nice and rosy –certain components like the bare plastic of the lower dash are a bit tacky and are out of place on sedan that will cost well over Rs 50 lakh.

The front seats provide exceptional support while going around the corners because of adjustable bolsters, but I am not sure if they are comfortable for long drives, especially for anyone who is not fit enough to be a racing driver. The ‘larger’ people in the team also found them just a wee bit small to be truly comfortable.The rear seats are similar to that of the A-Class but offer a little more knee room, as the front seats are thin with metal casing. The head room though is non-existent due to sloping roof, it wasn’t much of an issue for me but Charles (who is forty feet tall) and Selvin (who is thirty-eight feet high) were unwilling to spend anything more than five minutes in here.

I am willing to compromise on rear seat space in a performance car of this size, but when Mercedes launches the diesel version of the car people will complain, because we still want a car that can do it all.

The 2.0-litre inline-four cylinder turbocharged engine produces 355bhp and 450Nm of torque (45.9kgm) – this is why it gets the 45 AMG badge. Simply put, this is the most powerful four-cylinder engine in production today.

The high-revving motor is ferocious with massive assistance from a twin-scroll turbo the size of a Bollywood celebrity’s ego that pushes air into the engine at an incredible pressure of 26 psi. It is capable of reaching 100kph in around four and a half seconds, producing deep throaty music that also appeals to the motorcyclist in me.

In the Comfort / Economy mode the car is sedate and the DCT gearbox acts a little confused. Press hard on the pedal and the CLA 45 does move quickly, but only after taking a fraction of a second longer to select the right gear. It won’t downshift quickly under braking and as name suggests only suitable for commuting to your favourite motoring destination.

Switch to Sport mode and we are talking business – it revs cleanly to 6,700rpm before quickly selecting the next gear. The CLA 45 AMG is deceptively quick, speeds beyond 150kph can be reached in no time and then getting back isn’t much difficult with fantastic brakes. There is noticeable turbo-lag, but once the needle crosses 3,500rpm getting to redline takes so little time, manual mode will catch you out the first few times – marking this as a true AMG motor. The performance is more like a supersports motorcycle with extremely nerve-wracking top-end delivery. This also makes driving in Manual mode a little tricky, a delay of an instance in hitting the paddle shifter and you will be sitting on the limiter making a fool of yourself. Get it right, though, and you’re rewarded with distant gunfire as all the unburnt fuel from during the upshift ignites in the exhaust. A special mention here to the bloke who decided NOT to let the gearbox upshift when it hits the limiter – you, sir, understand the needs of an enthusiast.

Unlike the 7G-Tronic gearbox used in rest of the line-up, this gets the DCT 7-speed sport transmission similar to the one used in the SLS AMG. I have always complained about the gearshifts in most Mercs, even the AMG versions – but this one is lot better and finally almost on par with VW’s DSG and ZF’s eight-speed transmissions.

There is no denying that the ride is harsh, the suspension travel is limited and you are going to feel everything under the wheels – even the white paint that demarcates the lanes. At high speeds the car bounces even on the smallest of undulations and the Recaros don’t do much to alleviate the suffering. Probably the only cars of this size that score lower than the CLA 45 AMG in ride are the Minis. The ground clearance is not optimum for India and you need to be really careful over speed humps, especially since the lowest part of the car is the exhaust muffler.

At the primary level this is a front-wheel drive sedan and even with the all-wheel drive assistance, the front bias is pretty evident. The car tends to understeer when pushed hard through the corners, but in a way I think it is a good thing since most buyers will be first timers to the world of performance cars.

When I first heard the specs of the CLA 45 AMG, I was hoping for a Mitsubishi Evo and Subaru Impreza competitor. Talking in terms of straight line performance, it is even better, but the job of the AWD here is more to provide assistance when FWD gives up. So if you had dreams of showing up an Evo, the CLA will disappoint you on non-tarmac surfaces.

The CLA 45 AMG looks stunning, makes all the right kind of noises, goes fast enough to put a big smile on the face and carries revered AMG badge. I did complain a bit about the ride and cabin space, but if those are the main priorities then looking at executive sedans makes more sense. The only chinks in the armour is the handling, but it is still not a deal breaker for those who want a practical performance car.

The pricing is going to be a critical factor for the CLA 45 AMG, if we relate the prices to the international markets, I am expecting this sedan to set you back by close to Rs 80 lakh. My personal opinion is that anything above Rs 65 lakh would be a little steep price considering it will be going up against machines like the Porsche Boxster, BMW Z4 and even the Audi S4, but as far as the four door/super saloon category is concerned, there is no better mix of looks, performance and plain badge snobbery at that price.