Mercedes A45 AMG

The Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG Edition 1 could be yours (if MBM do bring in more) for RM348,888: a cool RM110,000 premium over the hot-selling 2014 Mercedes-Benz A250 Sport. And it is absolutely worth the extra Ringgits when you consider all that you get for it; the world’s most powerful four-cylinder engine included.

While it’s far too easy to get carried away with all the noise and power the A45 AMG presents, you’ve got to remember that it’s still a very functional car. Behind the scenes, you’ll find a very well-equipped and practical A-Class with all its luxuries and capacities intact.

So, that’s Porsche-beating AMG power and family-hatch practicalities, married in a Mercedes-Benz, all for only RM348,888. Who needs more convincing than that?

Driving a 2014 Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG Edition 1: Taking on all Porsches

THE NOISE: If you’re a bit of a nutter, you’re in for a treat. From firing up the engine to gunning the throttle, the A45 AMG makes a beastly noise – one that’s sourced more from its exhaust than anywhere else, which in itself is a technological marvel of its own. The AMG sports exhaust has an automatically-controlled flap which reacts to your performance demands. In short, stamping the throttle unleashes the full grunt, while more subtle driving plays a much more reasonable tune.

PERFORMANCE: And when you do dare the sports mode on the AMG Speedshift transmission with a foot to the floor, you might want to brace yourself for the A45 AMG’s 360hp and 450Nm of torque: it is far from reasonable – completely bonkers, to say the least. Mercedes-Benz tells us that using its Race Start (launch control), the A45 is good for a 4.6-second dash to a 100km/h. But having tried out the feature on several occasions now (at Sepang as well – story soon), the A45 is good for at least 4.3 seconds, again and again.

THE AUDACITY: To help give the numbers a little perspective, the RM348,888 A45 AMG’s 4.3-second century sprint puts to shame almost every Porsche 911 in the range – all but the Turbo, Turbo S, and the range-topping GT3. No wonder: the A45 does after boast the world’s most powerful four-cylinder engine in production. Sorry Porsche, but your range of cars that go from the RM460,000 Boxster to the RM500-600k Caymans and to more than half of your RM1mil 911s will be thwarted in a dash to 100km/h by this baby AMG