MotorTrend Hot Laps With Randy Pobst: 2020 Mercedes-AMG CLA45

MotorTrend

This might be one of the smallest AMGs

Transcript

00:00 (car engine roaring)

00:03 Hi, I'm Randy Popes with Motor Trend

00:17 and this is a Mercedes-AMG CLA 45.

00:21 It's Mercedes take on a mini muscle car.

00:25 Poopy styling and some serious aerodynamic additions

00:28 make the CLA 45 AMG worthy, even without a V8.

00:32 AMG's 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive is tunable

00:36 and that should be great for putting down power

00:38 out of the corners.

00:39 And despite being based on a front drive platform,

00:42 the CLA 45 comes equipped with a drift mode.

00:46 Tons of tire smoke at the flip of a switch.

00:49 This mini AMG comes equipped

00:53 with an eight-speed dual clutch transmission,

00:55 adaptive dampers, and an active exhaust system,

00:59 which tries to emulate the bellowing AMG motors

01:02 that we're used to.

01:03 Let's take a look.

01:05 These quad exhaust tips look just right

01:07 on a performance car.

01:08 And just above them, the three-pointed star for quality.

01:12 Carbon rear spoiler to improve high-speed performance.

01:15 Sitting on the back of a mini coupe shape,

01:18 we're riding on 18-inch AMG aluminum wheels

01:22 with big brakes.

01:23 Under the hood, that four-cylinder engine

01:25 making 382 horsepower.

01:27 They turn the whole rig around

01:29 and put the turbo on the back of the engine

01:31 for the AMGs to improve airflow.

01:34 They drive that power

01:35 through an eight-speed dual clutch transmission

01:37 and into my favorite feature,

01:39 a torque vectoring rear differential.

01:41 This all-wheel drive system can do anything.

01:45 The grill.

01:46 And the look comes straight from the '50s Mercedes race cars

01:49 that ran in the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico.

01:52 And a modern racing touch,

01:53 these canards or dive planes.

01:56 They make the car look like it belongs on a racetrack.

01:58 Let's take it out on Willow Springs

02:00 and find out if it really does.

02:01 (dramatic music)

02:04 (car engine revving)

02:09 CLA45's got good cornering balance.

02:16 We're getting well over 130 into one.

02:19 Come on, baby, sit down.

02:21 We need more tire.

02:23 Woo!

02:24 (laughing)

02:26 It's getting a lot out of the straight tires,

02:31 but it could use an R-compound.

02:33 Sticky, sticky tire.

02:35 Beautiful cornering balance in turn two.

02:41 Quick brake response up in three.

02:50 Slow training response.

02:51 Beautiful balance diving into five.

03:01 Good stability.

03:02 I want the transmission to already have the gear

03:10 and the AMG, eh.

03:12 It thinks about it and then gives it to me

03:15 a little moment later.

03:17 I want that moment back.

03:19 (car engine revving)

03:22 Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig.

03:35 (laughing)

03:37 Right to the edge.

03:39 CLA45 is definitely comfortable on track.

03:47 (car engine revving)

03:49 Now that's what I came for.

03:51 Mercedes AMG CLA45.

03:55 It's got a little two liter turbo four

03:58 that runs like a V8 from a few years ago,

04:01 but it pulls well in the mid range

04:03 and it's got a real strong top end.

04:05 My favorite thing about the car was the balance.

04:08 I love the all wheel drive system.

04:10 We had it in race mode and all the way around

04:13 turn two carousel, long right hander,

04:15 tail ends hanging out, beautifully balanced.

04:18 The thing I liked the least was that the gearbox

04:21 was sometimes a little slow to respond.

04:24 I'd go my pedal to the floor

04:26 and I could tell the systems were thinking

04:29 about what gear or even what throttle setting to use.

04:33 It's an impressively fast little sedan,

04:35 especially for a two liter.

04:38 One strong two liter turbo.

04:40 Transmission gets a little bit confused.

04:43 It's happier when I went to throttle earlier.

04:46 Early throttle, which is not a great strategy

04:49 for track driving, but in this case,

04:51 it works with the CLA45.

04:54 Good times out there.

04:56 Thanks for watching.

04:57 We'll see you next time.

04:58 (upbeat music)

05:01 (upbeat music)

05:03 (upbeat music)

05:06 (upbeat music)

05:08 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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