Peak 370 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Well, that little A Series is really something. Take your 350/370 to a Mercedes dealer and blag yourself a test drive. On the public road it would take something with huge power to get away at all. You could spend £90,000 on a new M5 and I would put my house on keeping it in sight on almost every road. 0-60 quoted as 4.6. Several mags have reeled off 4.3. This one has a remap and a sports exhaust and does 4 seconds flat. 10 seconds to 100. But it's the way it pushes everything it has into the tarmac. Incredible car. No spinning, no torque steer, just GOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Awesome car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 You'd hope so with 4wd though, and for it's price tag of £40,000 I'd want something a bit more "special" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 You'd hope so with 4wd though, and for it's price tag of £40,000 I'd want something a bit more "special" "Special" ? What other brand new car has 5 seats, is practical, does 0-60 in under 4.5 seconds and costs 'only' £40k? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjf1985 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I personally think it's not too badly priced at £40K, not all that many other cars that can match the performance of the AMG for the same price. I'm considering on getting an A-Class when I go down the "sensible route" but will probably go with the A220 CDI. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 A friend of mine has an A45 and it just feels too clinical, it's fast don't get me wrong - with a remap it beats a lot of "faster" things too, it's just too sterile for me. I worked with AMG's for nearly 2 years and you'd be surprised at how much they break too, and the servicing, my god that's a pain in the wallet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveM Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 "Special" ? What other brand new car has 5 seats, is practical, does 0-60 in under 4.5 seconds and costs 'only' £40k? i think you are confusing 'Value' with 'Special' new A45 AMG good value and very quick second hand Aston Martin V8 Vantage still very quick but a bit more 'Special' 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjf1985 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Does depend on what you're looking for though, I think it is pretty good value compared to others in its class. Get what you mean by saying you could get something "more special" but it looks pretty darn nice with the performance to back it up for a 5 door hatchback! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleR Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 They're beautiful cars in general, not just the A45. A neighbour has a diesel gunmetal one with the AMG kit, stunning. I think they'd look much better in a 3 door, though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peak 370 Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 Yes you could buy my old Ferrari 550 Maranello for £50K and it would be more special. But a hot hatch with the 0-100 of a Porsche 911 3.8 is pretty special to me. One that does 40 mpg and has 5 doors. Useable performance is what makes it special too. £38K. My son in law's Mondeo company car dev was £31,000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peak 370 Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 It did have slight lag, but with 414 bhp from 1991cc, it would! After 2,200 rpm it flew. Lovely stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliveBoy Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 That's almost my point, since when was a hot hatch worth £40,000?! Hot hatches were the young mans ferrari, they made you the champion of the traffic light grand prix and a hero on the twisties with your friends. They were light, cheap (ish) to run, cheap to buy and a hoot to drive. This is a heavy car made fast, yes it is still fast and I bet it's handling is impeccable, but it's not what a hot hatch was "supposed" to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjohnson1993 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 That's almost my point, since when was a hot hatch worth £40,000?! Hot hatches were the young mans ferrari, they made you the champion of the traffic light grand prix and a hero on the twisties with your friends. They were light, cheap (ish) to run, cheap to buy and a hoot to drive. This is a heavy car made fast, yes it is still fast and I bet it's handling is impeccable, but it's not what a hot hatch was "supposed" to be. i agree and with 40k laying about id be after a used gt-r Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
un1eash Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I'd save some money and buy a £30k M135i. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I'd save some money and buy a £30k M135i. The 2 is better than the 1, most of its the same but geometry is different, front end is much better 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
350 Russ Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 (edited) That's almost my point, since when was a hot hatch worth £40,000?! Hot hatches were the young mans ferrari, they made you the champion of the traffic light grand prix and a hero on the twisties with your friends. They were light, cheap (ish) to run, cheap to buy and a hoot to drive. This is a heavy car made fast, yes it is still fast and I bet it's handling is impeccable, but it's not what a hot hatch was "supposed" to be. It's just how the market it now, the age of the impractible, affordable sports car is dead, take the sales of the gt86 and 370 for example. People for the money would rather have something practical, faster but sacrifice the sports car looks IMO. Also saying id rather by X car used for 50k etc is missing the point if when new they were 80-90-100k Edited July 23, 2014 by 350 Russ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 People for the money would rather have something practical, faster but sacrifice the sports car looks IMO. This. Especially if the buyer has a family to consider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I would never buy a new Merc. Wait 2 or 3 years and it will be £15 to £20k.. . I'm waiting for the SL55 AMG to come down a bit more, then I'll get one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMT Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Burns my soul that little cars like this are destroying cars like the Zed (not just the Zed..lol) these days. It is bargain performance! BUT... it still looks...well a bit uninspiring... damn you hot hatches and the like...damn you. *clutches Zed keys* lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peak 370 Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 The A45AMG is special. The interior is beautiful. It is a proper AMG, despite the small engine. Deffo, most people don't want impractical now. We are a demanding lot! Look at 370 used prices. Also, yep, the 235i is better than the 135i for me, but many will want the space in the hatch. Only 5 bhp more is pretty poor, though. If there's a 380 bhp M2, i will probably get one a year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peak 370 Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 It will be a very long time before the A45AMG gets to £20K. 5 years at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMT Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 I know not in the same ballpark but in regards to looking special, I drove passed a new parked up Merc C-Class...good god. And I've seen the interiors. Its like utter luxury. A mini S-class in looks. Its crazy how things have changed. (even looked at the Astra GTC compared to the old sharp edged horrid dashed' thing) ...cars be getting good lookin' and fast! And not costing £500 to tax...grrr lol *clutches keys again* lol 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhackyWill Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 It will be a very long time before the A45AMG gets to £20K. 5 years at least. There will be lots coming off lease in 3 years time.. so dont be surprised..!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peak 370 Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 I hope you are right, but some people are paying £42K used at the moment for speccd ones! It's got Lancer Evo FQ360 shove; without the crashed taxi looks, the 18 mpg and the Ferarri service costs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The G Man Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Yeah, that's what I would have wanted when I was transporting toddlers and shopping, really practical getting to the nursery in 4.3 seconds. Oh did I mention, it's an ugly mofo of a car, man it looks like the ba5tard child of a 1 series and a Volvo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 "Special" ? What other brand new car has 5 seats, is practical, does 0-60 in under 4.5 seconds and costs 'only' £40k? i think you are confusing 'Value' with 'Special' new A45 AMG good value and very quick second hand Aston Martin V8 Vantage still very quick but a bit more 'Special' ^ Agree with this. A GT87 for example looks more 'special' but clearly is nothing like in terms of overall 'value' for what your getting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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