I test drove the A45 today... In wait of my CLA45

11227 Views 40 Replies 15 Participants Last post by milazzo, Sep 11, 2013

ESP AMG

Discussion Starter · Aug 30, 2013

heres a mini review for u guys

Just Test driven...

Well guys its done. I have just finished driving the 2014 A45AMG.

Before writing this review just so you know my background I have owned R32, R34 skylines, BMW M3 E46, BMW 335i currently and its chipped.

1 word incredible...

I will cover a few aspects that you have all asked me to do

Exterior
The exterior is definitely a lot wilder than the A250 with amg kit on it. The car looks wider, lower and just bad ass with the aero kit. I drove a white one and in the 30min drive I had several people stick there thumb up or smile at me. It is a serious head turner. I chose white for my CLA45 and so stoked. The night package looks great too. Blacked out windows, matt black wheels looks great. Do note the exhausts were in polished stainless not the matte chrome that most of them are pictured with. The rear wing is pretty naughty.

Interior.
Just wild. Those seats, AMG gear selector and small AMG race wheel is insane. It is such a comfortable yet tight interior. Like a mini track car. Once your in and behind the wheel you know this car means Serious business and to prepare yourself for something special.

The Sound.
This would have to be a highlight of the car. That video posted above is exactly what the car does sound like. It seriously sounds like a WRC rally car. In sport or Manual it is louder than in C mode. So C mode definately best if just cruising. That loud bang when shifting should be illegal and you would want to be careful of cops. As soon as they hear that u will be gone i would think haha. Oh well. Floor a C63 past a cop and your gone too haha.

The engine.
To tell you the truth I was a bit surprised. Reading all the reviews i was actually expecting a faster response. In my 335i. I have turned my chip off so it is effectively a stock 335i convertible. So not light either. and it didnt feel any quicker than it does. I suppose thats the 3L engine that does help. It was still quick and wild. There was a lot of traffic so didnt test launch controll. Without it the lag is there then bang it does take off. Still a super quick car and enough

Suspension.
Fairly stiff. Stiffer than my 335 but if u want a comfort car dont buy an AMG right.

The amazing sound this car produces really makes u think you are behind the wheel of a racing car.

Anyone that has this on order with be over the moon. I just want my CLA45 already haha.

Enjoy guys.

Hope this helps and excites you guys.

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Reactions: 1

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milazzo

· #2 · Aug 30, 2013

Everything sounds good except you said you felt the lag and it didn't feel quicker than your tuned 335. Other reviews I've read said they didn't notice any lag and that power felt linear. I definitely would like to drive one before I order now. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

marko91

· #3 · Aug 30, 2013

Damn it Eddy, I'm hoping you're just being a big troll; lowering our expectations so we can all be pleasantly surprised. Yeah, I'll go with that.

audi4t

· #4 · Aug 30, 2013

Good write up - expecting gr8 things from my AMG

I have a BMW 135i - 320 hp and that is fast !!!!!!

AMG should be even quicker :wink:

scott

· #5 · Aug 30, 2013

marko91 said:
Damn it Eddy, I'm hoping you're just being a big troll; lowering our expectations so we can all be pleasantly surprised. Yeah, I'll go with that.

Quickness is all relative. This guy's driven Skylines, precursors of the GT-R. I have not. Therefore, I'm expecting the CLA to be lightning quick. My question to ESP is this: how good was the dual-clutch? We hear it's not the fastest on the market, but decent nontheless.

milazzo

· #6 · Aug 30, 2013

Yeah I've read and saw video that the dct has quick upshifts but the downshifts are somewhat delayed. Test drive would be nice before ordering.

outsider

· #7 · Aug 31, 2013

milazzo said:
Everything sounds good except you said you felt the lag and it didn't feel quicker than your tuned 335. Other reviews I've read said they didn't notice any lag and that power felt linear. I definitely would like to drive one before I order now. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

That is big time worrisome...
If the A45 is not much quicker than a 335i convertible, we are in serious trouble. The 335i convertible is an incredible 440lb heavier than the coupe ! Dan Neil of the Wall Street Journal equates driving the BMW convertible to towing an anchor on an otherwise exceptionally quick car. 0-60 on an M3 DCT is 4.6, M3 Convertible is 5.2 335i is 5.2, 335i convertible is 5.8 ( factory numbers.) So if the A45, which I expect to be a touch quicker than the CLA45 ( 66 lb lighter than the CLA) feels 5.8, then we can just pack our bag and go home

audi4t

· #8 · Aug 31, 2013

outsider said:
That is big time worrisome...
If the A45 is not much quicker than a 335i convertible, we are in serious trouble. The 335i convertible is an incredible 440lb heavier than the coupe ! Dan Neil of the Wall Street Journal equates driving the BMW convertible to towing an anchor on an otherwise exceptionally quick car. 0-60 on an M3 DCT is 4.6, M3 Convertible is 5.2 335i is 5.2, 335i convertible is 5.8 ( factory numbers.) So if the A45, which I expect to be a touch quicker than the CLA45 ( 66 lb lighter than the CLA) feels 5.8, then we can just pack our bag and go home

Car and Driver have the CLA45 at 0-60 4.5 secs

outsider

· #9 · Aug 31, 2013

audi4t said:
Car and Driver have the CLA45 at 0-60 4.5 secs

No one has actually run a 0-60. They are all using factory number of 0-100 km in 4.6 sec.
I am sure the car is quick. But I already have quick cars. I need the CLA45 to be quicker than quick. If the car doesn't feel quicker than a 335i convertible, than I am bitterly disappointed.
All the hype makes the CLA45 a letdown if it is anything short of a stunner. Even 0-60 in 4.5 feels pedestrian these days.

audi4t

· #10 · Aug 31, 2013

outsider said:
No one has actually run a 0-60. They are all using factory number of 0-100 km in 4.6 sec.
I am sure the car is quick. But I already have quick cars. I need the CLA45 to be quicker than quick. If the car doesn't feel quicker than a 335i convertible, than I am bitterly disappointed.
All the hype makes the CLA45 a letdown if it is anything short of a stunner. Even 0-60 in 4.5 feels pedestrian these days.

Hard to beat quoted performance, quality and cache for less than $48k

milazzo

· #11 · Aug 31, 2013

outsider said:
That is big time worrisome...
If the A45 is not much quicker than a 335i convertible, we are in serious trouble. The 335i convertible is an incredible 440lb heavier than the coupe ! Dan Neil of the Wall Street Journal equates driving the BMW convertible to towing an anchor on an otherwise exceptionally quick car. 0-60 on an M3 DCT is 4.6, M3 Convertible is 5.2 335i is 5.2, 335i convertible is 5.8 ( factory numbers.) So if the A45, which I expect to be a touch quicker than the CLA45 ( 66 lb lighter than the CLA) feels 5.8, then we can just pack our bag and go home

Outsider I'm with you on this, the convertible is what had me second guessing this. And I'm assuming he drove his 335 there and if he did there is no better way to compare than a back to back comparo. But with that being said I believe one needs to drive the car for themselves how they would drive it to make an informed opinion. This is why I asked my dealer for a test drive if one becomes available before I order. And honestly we are all going to compare it to what we drive now and decide if it's faster or slower than what we are in now.
There was 1 video I saw that gives me hope with the A45 going against CLS AMG wagon and the A45 did 0-60 in 4.1 1/4 @12.6 @112.5mph.. That is impressive

milazzo

· #12 · Aug 31, 2013 (Edited)

Here is the video A45 vs CLS63. 0-60 4.1 sec 1/4 [email protected] 112.5 mph. Awesome numbers right there.

outsider

· #13 · Aug 31, 2013

audi4t said:
Hard to beat quoted performance, quality and cache for less than $48k

But no one is buying a $48k stripper. We are talking $55-$60k and up. I am going to withhold judgement naturally but I am going to take another long look at the white base C63 Coupe at the dealership for $63k.

Sue Esponte

· #14 · Aug 31, 2013

outsider said:
But no one is buying a $48k stripper. We are talking $55-$60k and up. I am going to withhold judgement naturally but I am going to take another long look at the white base C63 Coupe at the dealership for $63k.

I just REALLY wish it had AWD.

-Eric

outsider

· #15 · Aug 31, 2013

milazzo said:
Outsider I'm with you on this, the convertible is what had me second guessing this. And I'm assuming he drove his 335 there and if he did there is no better way to compare than a back to back comparo. But with that being said I believe one needs to drive the car for themselves how they would drive it to make an informed opinion. This is why I asked my dealer for a test drive if one becomes available before I order. And honestly we are all going to compare it to what we drive now and decide if it's faster or slower than what we are in now.
There was 1 video I saw that gives me hope with the A45 going against CLS AMG wagon and the A45 did 0-60 in 4.1 1/4 @12.6 @112.5mph.. That is impressive

I have seen that video on the forum and glad you brought it back up as I needed it to break my depression

I honestly don't need another car. I am buying the CLA45 simply on the premise that it is going to be a ground breaking vehicle against which every future 4-door sport car will be judged. My E92 M3 Coupe has held that spot for a few years and I just want to own perhaps the best of the next generation of super small sedan or coupe along side the M3 which shall always remain one of my favorites.

outsider

· #16 · Aug 31, 2013

Sue Esponte said:
I just REALLY wish it had AWD.

-Eric

You are dead right on that. Even with traction control fully active, the rear end wants to move under power. The C63 would be a scary car to drive on snow or ice. But I live in California...

backdoc

· #17 · Aug 31, 2013

I can confirm that ESP has reported on another forum that he was in heavy traffic so only got to rip it a little.

The general consensus is that modern sports cars deliver their power so well and have so much grip that it can be very misleading in relation to the speed you're actually carrying, hence may not seem that fast. Especially true in AWD cars.

The numbers don't lie and there are now numerous A45 AMG 0-60mph & 0-100kph sprints recorded. The car IS fast and the CLA will be no exception. Just make sure you option the sports exhaust.

ESP AMG

Discussion Starter · #18 · Aug 31, 2013

Hey guys. Great to see all your feedback. Sorry it took me a whole to get back to you all

I did drive my 335i there to do the direct comparison. I have a chip but this have been switched off for months so my 45 feels quicker.

I did see one review saying without launch controll the car is not that fast to 100 and that's all I tested. So with launch I think u will get the mid 4seconds. In Sydney I don't think I would use launch as much as I would like. So it's worth trying it without. It's still quick and it's loud I suppose I just expected more.

I think at the end of the day it is 2L not 3L and the 2 turbos on the Beemer probably help. Even though the Beemer is a lot heavier.

Maybe it's all the hype and I just expected more. The numbers don't lie and it is super quick. It is also maybe th refinement around the engine. I drove a Ferrari not long ago and that didn't even feel that quick. I suppose in aus the 335 convertible is $145k and the a45 is $85k. Big difference and that's what I have to get used to.

I am still going ahead and countin down the days till my cla 45 arrives so its not like it was bad

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Sue Esponte

· #19 · Aug 31, 2013

"Bimmer"

milazzo

· #20 · Aug 31, 2013

ESP AMG said:
Hey guys. Great to see all your feedback. Sorry it took me a whole to get back to you all

I did drive my 335i there to do the direct comparison. I have a chip but this have been switched off for months so my 45 feels quicker.

I did see one review saying without launch controll the car is not that fast to 100 and that's all I tested. So with launch I think u will get the mid 4seconds. In Sydney I don't think I would use launch as much as I would like. So it's worth trying it without. It's still quick and it's loud I suppose I just expected more.

I think at the end of the day it is 2L not 3L and the 2 turbos on the Beemer probably help. Even though the Beemer is a lot heavier.

Maybe it's all the hype and I just expected more. The numbers don't lie and it is super quick. It is also maybe th refinement around the engine. I drove a Ferrari not long ago and that didn't even feel that quick. I suppose in aus the 335 convertible is $145k and the a45 is $85k. Big difference and that's what I have to get used to.

I am still going ahead and countin down the days till my cla 45 arrives so its not like it was bad

Thanks for getting back and clearing some things up. Agree about the hype of this car and how it actually feels to you. That's what I'm a little nervous about it falling short of the hype. And great point about race start being used to achieve those numbers. A couple of questions for you.

1. Did the power feel linear throughout?
2. Did you notice any lag on downshifts?
3. Did you use both sport and manual mode? And if you did does manual mode hold all the shifts to redline? On the videos I've seen in sport mode it short shifts 2-3-4 it appears.

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