I once read a quote that says, "When a mosquito lands on your testes, the notion that anger or violence solves nothing comes to shine." While we're grateful that we've never had to find out its truth, we, too, share sentiments that anger, many a time, leaves ruin in its wake.
But negatives aside, there is a form of anger that we love. Not the sort of anger that is liberated in bed, but one that creates similar levels of excitement.
We're talking about an angry hot hatch - the angrier, the worthier.
A fine example of such a hatch is none other than Mercedes-AMG's fiery A45. The company recently revamped its pint-sized performer to outpower Audi's 367bhp RS3 Sportback and improved the car in many ways to become more of a monster.
Up close and Personal
Tweaks to the A45's exterior are subtle, and most of the changes take place at the front of the car.
It's got a new radiator grille, a redesigned front bumper, larger air inlets and downsized canards (the old ones were in-your-face and quite Mercedes-Bengs), or 'fins' as most people would term.
But negatives aside, there is a form of anger that we love. Not the sort of anger that is liberated in bed, but one that creates similar levels of excitement.
We're talking about an angry hot hatch - the angrier, the worthier.
A fine example of such a hatch is none other than Mercedes-AMG's fiery A45. The company recently revamped its pint-sized performer to outpower Audi's 367bhp RS3 Sportback and improved the car in many ways to become more of a monster.
Up close and Personal
Tweaks to the A45's exterior are subtle, and most of the changes take place at the front of the car.
It's got a new radiator grille, a redesigned front bumper, larger air inlets and downsized canards (the old ones were in-your-face and quite Mercedes-Bengs), or 'fins' as most people would term.
But for us, Mercedes-AMG's best improvement to the A45's aesthetics is, without a doubt, its feistier rear apron and a new diffuser insert, which houses four vertical 'fins' and a lip. The posterior's latest enhancement gives the A45 a more race-ready demeanour, a rear characteristic the outgoing model lacked.
The cabin, too, gets a few Mercedes-AMG extras.
In this A45, we found a new instrument cluster, start-up display, media interface, a redesigned helm (red top-stitching for racy flair) and most importantly, an AMG DYNAMIC SELECT knob, which haughtily displays a RACE mode, like in the C63.
The cabin, too, gets a few Mercedes-AMG extras.
In this A45, we found a new instrument cluster, start-up display, media interface, a redesigned helm (red top-stitching for racy flair) and most importantly, an AMG DYNAMIC SELECT knob, which haughtily displays a RACE mode, like in the C63.
The Drive
Mercedes-AMG's old A45 churned 360bhp and 450Nm of torque, and for a period of time wasn't the most powerful hot hatch in the world.
Clearly, the people at Merc weren't ecstatic about losing that title because the A45 now makes a maniacal 381bhp and 475Nm of wrenching force from a rorty 2.0-litre force-fed engine - a point the car makes clear as soon as you slam your right foot down.
The updated A45 gets from 0-100km/h in 4.2 seconds, 0.4 seconds quicker than before and 0.1 seconds faster than the RS3.
This new-found glory is a result of a reconfigured valve assembly, adjustments to timing, more barbaric turbocharging, revised gear ratios (acceleration is relentless) and improved aerodynamics.
But at the end of the day, a hot hatch isn't purely about performance in a straight line. Germans understand this and have included an optional AMG DYNAMIC PLUS package in the update.
What this means is that the AMG DYNAMIC PLUS system loaded in our test car is armed with a mechanical front axle-locking differential to tame the extra torque, adaptive suspension and a RACE mode for launch control.
To push those improvements to their limits, you'd have to take the A45 to a race track. But for what it's worth, through the tamer drives conducted on local roads, it's safe to say that the A45 isn't just ludicrously quick; it's a complete, dynamic package. The car reacts swiftly to driver inputs, and changes directions at dangerously fast speeds without much drama. It sticks, it grips and it goes.
Conclusion
If you've got $272,888 (as of 7 May 2016) to splurge, get high on brutal performance and crave ownership of the most powerful and fastest hot hatch in the world, there is not much reason to not want the Mercedes-AMG A45.
Indeed, some things in life are best experienced when they're angry.
