A45 AMG Test Drive - First Impressions

It is a lot hence why i am not sure about it. I want to try it on Friday and then see how i feel.

Had some revised finance figures come back from a asset finance company we use a lot for my business so its looking doable in that sense.

What would you guys buy instead then ? I am put off the RS3's due the age of the technology within them. I don't think ill ever be a massive BMW fan although i liked the M4 when i saw one..

I love the A45. Everything about it floats my boat apart from the silly stuck on looking Sat nav. I just hope it drives as well as it looks.

I started off looking at the RS Megane but i dont think its really in the same league as the A45 is it?

Should i be trying a Golf R before i make a purchase ?
 
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Jester* said:
Are you purely after a hot hatch?

What are the criteria for you?
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Well i can spend between 40-50k looking at the finance situation with between 10k-14k deposit

I have come from a Clio 200 so i want it to be noticeably faster than that

Me and my dad also have a 370z Black Edition so at least as fast as that and as comfortable

I am 29 with maximum no claims so insurance is still a bit of an issue - they have quoted me £1,400 for this car and that is about as much as i want to pay. (so no higher insurance group than the A45) - I cant put it on the fleet insurance as the 370z already is and you can only have one car not owned by the business on our fleet policy.

Not bothered if its 2 or 5 seats - No kids or regular GF at the minute

No older than 2013

5000 - 10000 miles a year - its only going to be a evening and weekend car as have work van - Not bothered about fuel consumption

I don't think i like BMW's but i am happy to be proven wrong

Dream car at the moment is an F Type R AWD, R8 V10 or Hurracan but i think i am a few years off that really. Need to make some more money. We discussed trading in the 370z and buying one of these between us but they don't want to sell it as we bought it new in 2011 and its only got 20k miles on it, is paid off and they (mum and dad) have own priorities not linked to a 100k car.

£500.00 a month maximum repayments over 5 years via Asset finance

Already have my own apartment with a decent deposit and comfortable monthly repayments so id rather spend all of it and get the best car i can.

Thats all i can think of right now... Hope that helps.
 
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MaX_PoWah said:
Test driving a current model A45 on friday

I don't know what to do if i like it though

Buy a current model from dealer stock and have it now (Sheffield has a new black one coming next week with Pan roof, Exhaust, Aero package etc but not much else)

Or buy a new one (Facelift and other upgrades) and wait 3 months with the options i want which gives me more time to save up some money for the deposit and deal with current car

I have specced up a new one with the following

Metallic Paint - Havent decided on a colour yet although i suspect Red, black or White
Aero Package
Performace exhaust
Dynamic Plus - AMG Launch Control thing, Dampers and ride height etc
Night pack
Command Online - Better Sat Nav
Premium Pack - Better sound, Pan roof, Keyless start

And its coming in at 48.5k

Obviously the new Shape has better AWD, 20 more BHP, Keyless Start (only available on new one), and the new alloys.

I thought i would look at what between 35k - 50k & 2013-2015 age range gets you used on piston heads and the list is pretty depressing - TTS's, Porches (Caymans and Boxters), M4's (Just), M3's, Various other Mercades including C63, RS3's and i am only on page 6 of 40 so thats making me think as well.

Thoughts?
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Have you had a test drive in the R or the RS3 ? a difference in Power but really not noticeable at all when pushed . The biggest difference for me was the Ride comfort and feedback which is too harsh and jittery in the A45 compared to the R with DCC Setup. Would like to see what the new RS3 bring's on board..

MaX_PoWah said:
It is a lot hence why i am not sure about it. I want to try it on Friday and then see how i feel.

Had some revised finance figures come back from a asset finance company we use a lot for my business so its looking doable in that sense.

What would you guys buy instead then ? I am put off the RS3's due the age of the technology within them. I don't think ill ever be a massive BMW fan although i liked the M4 when i saw one..

I love the A45. Everything about it floats my boat apart from the silly stuck on looking Sat nav. I just hope it drives as well as it looks.

I started off looking at the RS Megane but i dont think its really in the same league as the A45 is it?

Should i be trying a Golf R before i make a purchase ?
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try a golf R with DCC suspension, you will definately notice a difference in ride comfort, feedback
 
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I didn't think much of it to be honest, very un-involving. It was hard to distinguish it between the diesel A3 I drove a few weeks prior. Yeah it was rapid, very rapid but other than that it just didn't do it for me.
 
Jokester said:
I didn't think much of it to be honest, very un-involving. It was hard to distinguish it between the diesel A3 I drove a few weeks prior. Yeah it was rapid, very rapid but other than that it just didn't do it for me.
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Yeh i agree apart from the arches and exhaust it looks like my car but most the the rs range is like that its more about the engine in the rs3 i just can't get over the interior in the merc but that's my pov.
 
with the new 2015 M135i, they may have adjusted the damper setup's but the previous version still is not as compliant over the bumps and uneven roads. That being said you can't compare the rear wheel to Haldex which gives a completely different level of control
 
I have had my a45 for nearly 8 months and I love it.
Mine is white with performance exhaust pano roof and performance steering wheel.
Go for test drive make sure it is in sport setting because there are three settings Comfort,sport,Manual
I went to the Southern car meet couple of weeks ago and all passengers were smiling after they had a lift in it.
I did not go for the Aero kit so it is in stealth mode you do not get boy racers bothering me and you leave them standing (A Wolf in sheeps clothing)
currently running 22.5 mpg and that is with hard driving seen upto 37 mpg on the motorway.
It is a great allround package and I have no issues with ride I came from a GT86 and its ride was worse.
The gearbox it fine but you may need your driving style
It will like ballistic missile compared to the Clio
 
TTRS - slower, less practical, looking old styling wise.

R8 V10 - for 60k, i'd be amazed and also that's at best £12k more than the A45 (it's impossible to get to 50k without speccing everything). Didn't realise how nasty the interior was on these actually (just been looking on auto trader!)

997... once again, less practical and at the end of the day it's a 2nd hand, old model Porsche.

Unsure why being a "hatchback" is such a cause for concern. It's an AMG, essentially no different to any of the other AMG cars that are held in such high esteem here.

Also, "hot ish"? It's as fast as a 911 Carrera S 0-60.

I'm coming across massively one-sided, I'll admit, however the arguments against the A45 are odd.

1) It's a totally different prospect to a coupe / sports car. Having 4 proper seats for starters.

2) £40-50k for an AMG is actually good value for money considering the next rung in the range is effectively £20k more.
 
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Seems bizzarely easy to gloss over the fact it only has 4cylinders when comparing to other AMG products?

In reality thats a good chunk of the reason its a perceived damn expensive car.
 
leon4112;28375390 Also you might be able to get a good deal on the Merc as there is a facelift coming soon to combat the RS3 [url said:
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I said this more or less to the dealer. He said that as it's such a beast of a car it will hold its value like the c63 has done. Not sure what to make to this comment, I will definitely be telling them what I want to pay when it comes to it I know that.
 
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