Mercedes appears to be pushing the performance envelope with the A45 AMG with its recent facelift. The car's power and torque has been increased by 21hp and 25Nm respectively to 381 and 475Nm which is very high for a small car. The little pocket rocket is definitely a fast car and not one to take lightly. It is immensely capable and has great character from its rowdy exhaust note. the new facelift model comes with a modular exhaust valve where it can alter its opening to suit slow speed city driving or full bore wide open throttle applications. Looks wise the car hasn't changed much, the changes were mostly under the skin. The Mercedes A class is not ugly to begin with so better not mess with the looks.
The previous model despite having 4WD the car had a tendency to understeer when pushed hard into turns. this probably because it is 4WD and the weight of the engine is over the front wheels. In the hands of a good driver it still can manage impressive lap times in any race track and in the hands of the novice it will make him look like a hero.
Mercedes is definitely doing well with its new model line up with can appeal to the younger buyers which was something Mercedes was aiming for. In the past Mercedes were associated with older buyer or someone more matured, this meant Mercedes was losing out on the younger buyer which was promptly snapped up by BMW. This has all changed and Mercedes has taken the fight to BMW and Audi. this is the first time in history where Mercedes as so many new models on offer from the A, B, C, E, S, M, G, GLA, GLC, GLE, GLK, SL, SLK, CLK, AMG GT and Vito. The buyers are spoilt for choice. This definitely also helps Mercedes capture more sales world wide and broadens it brand appeal. It does not look like BMW or Audi is able to follow the pace where Mercedes is expanding it range.
Having visited the Mercedes museum in Stuttgart, the museum will be in need for more space soon at the rate Mercedes is expanding it model range.
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