When the CLA was unveiled in 2013 it attracted sales of around 100,000 in its first year, prompting the head of Mercedes US to describe it as the company’s most successful launch for 20 years and it’s not rocket science to see why.
This is one of the most visually attractive cars on the road, deliberately aimed at younger drivers who may find the Mercedes CLS, on which it is based, a bit on the large side.
It makes an instant impact with its aerodynamic, streamlined and aggressive stance. Mercedes say it’s the most aerodynamic car in its sector. Add three important letters – AMG – and what is a very nice car indeed becomes a high performance compact saloon of the highest quality.
Visually, the dynamic look is reinforced by the AMG twin blade radiator grille and the cross strut in the AMG front apron, both painted in matt titanium grey.
You wouldn’t expect anything but the very best from AMG but what makes this car exceptional is that, unlike most of its stablemates produced by those clever chaps at Affalterbach, the high performance division of Mercedes, the CLA 45 AMG has a relatively small engine.
It is powered by a four-cylinder, two-litre turbo charged engine which, at first, might put off those of us who are used to stonking V8s in AMGs, but make no mistake this powerplant packs one almighty punch.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how performance car manufacturers are downscaling their engines to meet emission controls but managing to extract just as much, if not more, power, mainly thanks to turbo technology and the CLA 45 AMG is a perfect example of how successful this can be.
In fact, the engine that powers this aesthetic masterpiece is the same one that sits in the smaller and just as impressive A45 AMG and is the most powerful production turbo-charged four-pot in the world with 360bhp and torque of 450nm.
It will get you from 0-100kmh in 4.6 seconds, has a top speed of 250kmh and although the noise it makes is not quite as dramatic as the baritone growl of a V8 in full song, it is still distinctive enough to turn a few heads.
The power is transferred to a four-wheel-drive system which gives the car outstanding traction, via a seven-speed dual clutch automatic with paddle-shifts which I ended up using all the time because of a surprising amount of turbo lag when using fully auto.
Taking manual control eliminates this and the car becomes a real live-wire and a pleasure to drive with engine feedback in the form of a series of cackles and pops as you push through the gears.
The car can be driven in eco, comfort or the essential sport mode which I used permanently.
The handling is what you would expect from an AMG car with superb chassis and suspension technology which makes it incredibly agile and all the driver assists you need.
If you want to up the ante and add a bit more excitement you can reduce the amount of electronic stability control using the three-stage ESP button.
You can turn it off completely if you are feeling courageous, or stupid enough, which leaves control of the car to you with zero help from the onboard technology which is probably best kept for track work.
A slightly reduced amount of artificial help is the wiser option which provides a more engaging experience.
The interior of the car is top notch with sports seats in Artico man-made leather and Dinamica microfibre with red contrasting topstitching, red seat belts, and a flat-bottom multifunction steering wheel.
The infotainment system is accessed via a rotary controller on the centre console and a seven-inch display screen on the dash.
Our test car was fully loaded and so had AMG performance seats plus a classy carbon interior and exterior package. It also had a totally unnecessary black transfer running along the bottom of the car which I hated. It made it look a bit boy-racer and cheapened the whole effect. That apart, this is one astonishingly good car. I guarantee it will be love at first sight.
