Let me throw some numbers at you: 360bhp. 450Nm of torque. 0-100kph in 4.6 seconds. You probably think I’m on about performance figures of a modern-day V8. Or an inline six at best. Possibly a choked V12 from the Seventies. But a four-pot? Surely not. Well, brace yourself for a shock; the aforementioned figures belong to... you guessed it.
Mercedes-Benz, take a bow. Or the boys from Affalterbach to be precise. We all know that Merc builds good cars but once AMG gets hold of them, great things happen. They’ve done the unthinkable by producing the most powerful four-cylinder (in series production) in the world. This blown 2.0-litre sitting in the CLA 45 AMG is nothing short of incredible. AMG has been fettling with big V8s and even bigger V12s for decades and in that time has built some truly magical motors, none of which were turbocharged four-cylinders. Indeed, its latest trick has been the creation of this exceptionally potent four-pot — which we already got a taste of in the A 45 AMG. Now it’s doing the business in this slinky little coupé — designed for those that deemed the CLS too large.
Although it (and the hot hatch) might not be the kind of bodies that we’ve grown used to seeing pack an AMG-tuned motor, it’s clear times are changing. Thankfully, one thing isn’t. Performance. The CLA 45 AMG might be little, but it has a large personality. A quick glance confirms as much.
It’s an aggressive little looker measuring just 4,691mm long, 1,777mm wide and 1,416mm high, and though the CLA was already a good-looking car, this hopped-up version takes it a step further. A step too far for some, perhaps; the black decals might be a touch much along with the red accents all over the rakish exterior. It’s borderline brash.
There are further cues hinting at its potency such as the AMG twin-blade radiator grille and the cross strut in the AMG front apron. It looks fast and that’s before you set eyes on the AMG badges, which of course confirm this isn’t a slouch. Like the bigger CLS, the CLA has a rather fluid shape with flowing character lines. The large air intakes, carbon fibre boot-lid spoiler and 19in wheels round off the exterior quite well. The interior is on the loud side too; it packs sports seats with red contrasting topstitching and red seat belts. A multifunction steering wheel with shift paddles, the AMG drive unit and AMG door sill panels all come as standard.
It feels quite similar to the rest of the Benz clan; as in the other models, the small rotary knob found between the front seats controls all of the Comand infotainment functions, which are housed in that 7.0in display (you know the one — that looks like an afterthought).
It’s not quite a tech fest, this was designed as an entry-level model, remember, but is it comfortable or practical? The front seats support you so well that getting out of them requires a lot of determination. They’re quite big, too, and the passenger chair obstructs your right side view a tad. The armrest keeps sliding backward every time you floor the throttle and those in the rear better not be of the six foot variety or they’ll have a neck ache to contend with. The swoopy roof doesn’t help the ergonomics, but it looks good. Besides, passengers will weigh you down and you certainly don’t want the extra kilos slowing your progress. Not when this car’s remit is to deliver exceptional performance. And that it does. Featuring the same snappy seven-speed dual-clutch automatic as the A 45 AMG, the CLA feels just as dynamic as the bootless wonder in spite of it lugging an extra 30kg.
It tips the scales at 1,585kg (you’ll wonder where the extra mass is hiding as it doesn’t translate on the road) but the added weight is brought on by Affalterbach’s decision to utilise all-wheel drive (with a front-wheel bias) for this hard-core model. It’s a good job, as with the enormously powerful Honeywell turbocharger putting out a huge 26.1 psi of boost and 360bhp at your disposal, you need all four wheels digging in. But it’s hard to break the tail loose, meaning you can enter corners at a far greater pace. And when you do sense a bit of understeer you can correct it by flooring the throttle; the back end hunkers down, straightens up and you’re out of harm’s way.
The steering (speed-dependent, electrically assisted rack) is nicely weighted and offers just about enough feedback during turn-in, while the brakes provide lots of stopping power. However, in stop-go traffic, they feel a little grabby.
It suffers from quite a bit of lag and the only way to get it to play is to drive it in Manual mode (Comfort and Sport are your other two) and this way, it’s far easier to exploit the seven-speed. Before you know it, you’ll be closing in on its 250kph limit — when that turbo eventually spools up and hits the torque band’s sweet spot.
On the move, you’ll be treated to a chorus of snap-crackle-pop sounds from the AMG exhaust, which add to the fun factor of driving this car — but soon become cumbersome. I mean, at 1,000rpm, it’s still making those “braap” sounds when you flick the paddles, which is just weird when you’re only going 30kph.
Regardless, this thing drives as tight as the hatch and has all the DNA of AMG thanks to that hand-built V8. Oh, I beg your pardon, four-pot. Easy mistake to make.
This story first appeared on wheels in November 2014
