THE SWEET SPOT
The CLA 45 AMG by Mercedes is quite a looker. But that’s not all. This unique car might just have all the features that you would want
The modern- day four- door saloon car like the M5 or E63 AMG has nearly 600bhp. F1 world championships have been won with a lot less than that. It’s not like you’re taught to use this power either. You just buy it, and find out for yourself what it feels like to drain your bladder and those of your passengers before you hit 100kph. In other words, absolute power may corrupt absolutely, but it is also bloody terrifying. It’s not as if I don’t like power or speed, but even I can admit when it’s too much. With the CLA 45 AMG, Mercedes seem to have found a balance which is as close to the edge of exploitability as I’ve ever known. I haven’t done any checking but at 355bhp I’m fairly certain that this is the least powerful AMG car on sale today. It is worth mentioning that this much power has been screwed out of a 2 litre four- cylinder by some extraordinary engineering and a whacking great turbocharger. Since Mitsubishi makes the 400 and 440bhp EVOs only as special editions, this engine gets the dubious distinction of being the world’s most powerful turbocharged four- cylinder in series production.
And it’s got the 7- speed AMG SPEEDSHIFT which is good, and 4Matic which is great. The result of this is 0100kph in 4.6 seconds and that’s completely irrelevant. More on that later.
First look at the thing. Styled with the four- door- coupe ( still bonkers) idea to be a smaller version of the CLS, the standard CLA is quite the looker. With all the AMG visual paraphernalia, it looks even better. Hunkered down and menacing. Like the CLS, it has pillar- less doors and like the CLS it will get you lots of attention, especially in red.
The interior is rather excellent with really comfortable sport seats, loads of equipment like fully electric front seats, satnav, panoramic sunroof, AMG gear lever and plenty more. More than all the gadgets you get as standard, this feels like a Mercedes AMG interior; very high quality, nocompromise long feature list and genuine sporting luxury.
It’s been a while since I’ve driven a high- performance four- cylinder so the exhaust note reminded me of the street- racing tuned cars I used to drive many many years ago. It was a nice bit of nostalgia. As with all AMGs, the CLA is genuinely benign. It’s as well behaved as Prince Charles, until you provoke it.
With most high- powered cars, you’re always wary of the huge reserves power, so you tend to drive them more carefully than you would otherwise. The CLA 45 has just the right amount and you can use all of it for a lot of the time. This car’s limits are at the edge of usable. On any normal Indian highway, you can put it in Sport mode, mash the accelerator pedal and you will not be scared of what happens next. It is a great deal of speed, yes. But it feels like it is the result of your bravery, not a gigantic engine. Honestly, this is the most I’ve ever felt in control of a car on the wrong side of 250kph. This is a very special car to me. It took me to a place in the motoring world I’d never been to before - just about enough power to be really fast but completely controllable. Not to mention the chassis, brakes, steering and electronics all have a role to play in what is the first of a new breed of performance cars. The price for the privilege is ` 69 lakh ( ex- showroom). If you have the money and the wherewithal, but you buy a ‘ bigger’ car, I’ll be very disappointed.