Mercedes-AMG A45S

HELLO

£56,570 OTR/£58,365 as tested/£626pcm

WHY IT’S HERE

Can this hot hatch justify a sports car price tag?

DRIVER

Ollie Marriage

THE DELIVERY DRIVER WAS IN PAIN. “YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE THE controls for the lumbar support are, do you?” he said, hobbling out of the sparkling A45 he’d just parked at mine. “I’ve completely done my back in driving down here.” I’d been busy taking in the £1,795 mountain grey magno paint, but this jerked me out of my reverie. “I’ve got this,” I thought. “It’ll be on the side of the seat or with the rest of the electric seat controls on the door.”

But no. I couldn’t find it either. Because there are always better things to do than read the owner’s manual, I assumed there was no lumbar adjustment and instead spent the next week tolerating spinal discomfort. Then one evening my son was going through the settings menu. I’d attempted this already, but it’s next to impossible when driving.

I glanced over. He’d just clicked on the Ambient Lighting button, but there, at the top, was a sub-menu called Seat Comfort. Hang about. I got him to go back and check again. Yes, click on Ambient Lighting, and within that you’ll find Seat Comfort. And within that a route out of constant back pain. But look, I was only in my first week of life with the A45 and one of my fears had already been realised. Not only is it too bloody complicated, but where’s the sodding logic? Since when is seat comfort a subset of ambient lighting?

My fear is that I’ll spend so much time managing the car that I don’t actually enjoy driving it. That’s what I’ll find out. But after the RS6 I’m looking forward to driving a relatively small, nimble (if rather complex and fully kitted out) performance car. Early note: people seem to worship the tarmac the A45 passes over. What we’re looking at is an automotive jewel: small, dense and powerfully alluring. But first of all I’ve got to figure out how it works. It’s time to capitulate. I’m off to get the manual.