A45 AMG - The Good, Bad and Ugly! What You Need To Know!

With the New 2019 A45S on the horizon it now means that the A45 AMG facelift is now pretty good value for money. In this video i tell you the good, bad and ugly when it comes to the Mercedes A45 AMG. Hopefully this video will help people who may be thinking about buying the A45 AMG.
•••••••• Cameras & Gear Used To Make This Video ••••••••
Canon G7Xii
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Go Pro Hero 7 Black
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Go Pro HERO5 Session
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Edited on Apple MacBook Pro
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#A45 #A45AMG #MercedesA45AMG

[@giovanniiurilli6667]

In my opinion an A45 deserves an aero pack, not an A35 btw great car, love it

[@PeakPerformanceReviews]

Great video fella! Tbh the 45 AMG is definitely a cracking car and is probably and strangely the one Mercedes I’d most like to own aside from the GTR. Great vid as always my man 👍👌

[@castleslayer2468]

Great video. Planning on getting one in 12 months. Very helpful. Thanks mate

[@CorgiOnStilts_]

As a potential owner of a facelift a45 this video is invaluable. Thank you so much.

[@StefABtv]

Very welcome 🙌

[@hacker123apple]

Thanks alot, i was afraid from bad,ugly things in this car may change my mind, but happily they did’nt, they just adds alittle more info about this car and surely why i should buy it! Thanks again mate

[@NickB_Yorkshire]

Thanks for the brilliant honest video. Seriously considering updating my A200 AMG Line Executive to an A45 eventually. Owned a 1988 Sapphire RS Cosworth for 16 years and I used to floor it in tunnels as well. It had a 4” full stainless exhaust 😁 The A45 sounds fantastic. I’m in my 50s and will never grow up when it comes to cars 😬👍🏼

[@TG-mt6ke]

Im glad i came across your vidoe. That 8 mile warm up has just put me off getting one. Think ill go for the m140i now or a cupra

[@sky3061]

that is my dream car

[@enriquewestenburg2381]

theHighWard mine also

[@zaink7037]

It's something I'm sure you lads can obtain one day 👍. You can pick these up from around £23k

[@kioshy_.]

gonna get mine this week eheh

[@primemachine146]

@@kioshy_. getting mine in a month

[@kioshy_.]

@@primemachine146 i have mine for a year now hahaha, time fly's

[@sbaddison]

I think I remember telling you about the gearbox & driveshaft issues when you first got the Merc. Neighbour had Multiple failures despite being gentle to it. Luckily for him, he lives next door but one to the Swansea dealership owner. He’s had 2 x Cayman since!

[@PushToStart]

Appreciate the video bud, looking to purchase a 1st Edition pre-lift A45, checking forums to look at issues etc before my test drive, but god I love this car! - Dream Car! 🔥💛

[@StefABtv]

Brilliant cars

[@relentlesspursuit6894]

The A45S could end up being a very special car - cant wait to see how it turns out

[@StefABtv]

It will be unbelievable I think!

[@alexanderpierorazio5313]

for boring people, yes.

[@relentlesspursuit6894]

@@alexanderpierorazio5313 the fastest hot hatch ever built - doesn't sound boring to me 👌

[@lickmygooch1013]

@@relentlesspursuit6894 probably because it’s automatic

[@WildShotZ14]

Well the last vids on the A45 is just a perfect sendoff for it👍

[@StefABtv]

🙌🙌 thanks man

[@WildShotZ14]

@@StefABtv ok man👍

[@user-gu6xc3zk3d]

Nice car the colour is amasing 😁👍

[@mohammedazaan5222]

The areo kit is amazing and sound amazing

[@mziwandilemazibuko7522]

STEF you the bomb🔥🔥🙌🙌

[@katlehoraphasha4278]

I prefer this model over the new A45s purely because of the front grill. Top video though 💯 🇿🇦

[@artoalanen5890]

Thanks. I have it, I love it.

[@StefABtv]

Wicked cars man

[@spittinvenom9843]

Loving my 2018 GLA45, refined practicality with getaway gentlemanly power, it’s an avatar in a video game 🎮 ride, if it was a 7 speed manual I’d be in heaven

[@zamamariamazibuko4012]

🙌🙌❤nice 1 buddy

[@GoRekzah]

Saw you at ace the other night, top lad

[@StefABtv]

Cheers dude

[@paullockwood7219]

Stef, as always great video pal. Really helpful. I'm currently looking for a CLA45 Shooting break instead. Thought process is that an older, maybe more mature driver will have looked after it better, but that's probably not accurate. Haha. Also having a family it ticks more boxes. Look after yourself mate.

[@StefABtv]

Cheers dude you too!

[@CharlieMayhew-jq7iv]

Did you ever get the CLA45?

[@alancooper6248]

Great mate. Now more 4C please

[@StefABtv]

Lol. 4C content will come.

[@martindonohue66]

I actually like the slow warm up so that I don’t hammer it everywhere I go!

[@YasukeXDovah]

It's pretty funny that I flew to London to buy one a few days after I saw the video saying that you sold it. Stef and Forza horizon 4 were the reasons I wanted one. The best part is pulling away from that bloody Ford Focus RS that lives down the street 💪.

[@StefABtv]

Haha yeah the 45 is so quick!

[@zaink7037]

Was that focus RS driver driving like a yobbo 🤣? I've sadly seen a a fair few RS drivers driving like this

[@OhayoR]

Thank u! Thinking of getting a used 2022 A45. Do you know if they fixed some of the issues? thanks

[@dominiccelimon7725]

Crews hill gang 🙌🏽

[@sky3061]

a45 is the dream

[@dommelville8613]

With launch control from stock was 3.9 to 60 and 100 in 9.2 when I vbox'd mine. 8 miles on gearbox warm up is good, mine was around 13 miles ! Still a great car but servicing cost is high. Mileage kills the value more than any other car I've owned.

[@shahzadkhan-ct4oi]

what is vbox?

[@ErosMorelli]

It's such a good looking car! 👌🤪🔥

[@elmermt]

thank you looking to purchase 2014 AMG A45,

[@scottcampbell10]

I'm looking to get a facelift A45 in the next couple of months. Hopefully find out some more about the new 45 and 45S before then so I can see whether it is worth waiting out. How is it that you A45 had black inserts in the seats and others I've seen have the aluminium? I'm guessing its part of the premium pack or something?

[@StefABtv]

Yeah it’s the premium pack and night pack I believe

[@MrRoyck10]

The A45's ASBO look is a miss for me after my ownership of Evos, Scoobies and Type R in the 1990s to the early naughties. Like you mentioned Stef, the sensation of speed is more important to me that bhp or actual speed, with modern turbocharged cars you need to drive the soulless thing so fast yet they lack character. This where Alfa Romeo and Alpine came in with a back to basis approach of building a sports car. Nice content as always.

[@StefABtv]

Cheers bud! 🙌🙌🙌

[@AznS0ulja]

hey stef, what driving mode were you in for the video?

[@predator5723]

and... how about reliability?... ive heard a lot a trouble with it.... is it true? or u know some of the problems? besides the gearbox.... AND... how much does the gearbox fix costs?

[@chardmc]

This was and still is in consideration for my next car, after reading and hearing so much about the gearbox warm up process im slightly put off, I travel a total of approx 15 miles per day comprised of 2-3 journeys so I wouldnt be comfortable throwing it around if it could potentially cause damage.

[@arthurdeth7646]

Have you bought it yet?

[@chardmc]

@@arthurdeth7646 in the end I went with an S3 saloon with all the extra’s

[@KyleHudsonn]

@@chardmc How's that for you if you don't mind me asking? I'm on the fence about an A45/S3 saloon myself

[@chardmc]

@@KyleHudsonn yeah its a lovely car, definitely up there in terms of quality. I guess it depends what your expecations are, I had a Seat Leon Cupra before this (2 door datch, same EA888 engine as S3 but manual version). Previous car was front wheel drive and a lot of fun, 290bhp. S3 is on another level in terms of quality and comfort. Fuel economy is decent in this too often 30ish mpg (as high as 40mpg on longer journeys on motorways) 0-100 is absolutely rapid, great noise with dsg bangs (I have resonator delete done also. What do you drive currently?

[@KyleHudsonn]

@@chardmc Have a mapped F30 330d sitting at 310 bhp, don't get me wrong it is quite quick and I love it. But, it's just a bit boring if that makes sense? I don't really use it as much as I used to due to work, so that's another factor, plus you can't get a decent sound of of a diesel like you can a petrol which is a massive negative for me

[@justinbracher5902]

I absolutely loved mine, did 16000 miles in 6 months! I definitely had problems with the gearbox! Not so much with the crunch, but just when trying to put my foot down the vehicle sometime just wouldn’t move or get into gear! Which was a worry. Otherwise the car was literally such an occasion!

[@StefABtv]

What was the fault in the end? Yeah they are great cars. Clinical I think is the right word to describe the A45 🙌

[@justinbracher5902]

They weren’t sure, it was with Mercedes for about a month and they sent it back to me after a tire and oil change! Still had the same problem though, which was a pain at junctions. So got out of it a few months ago, otherwise I recon I’d be approaching 30k miles by now 😂!

[@justinbracher5902]

That or in a hedge

[@Scotty08]

​@@justinbracher5902 spark plugs need changing every 15k miles and coil pack. That would have sorted your issue

[@jtjt7337]

Got a facelift a45 myself. Mountain grey, none aero, performance pack (the one that gives R mode which I do notice gives a little more Agro than S+), and optioned lock diff, non aero though. Personally I love the car. It’s just so mechanical and raw feeling in a way. You can really feel the clutch slipping to get the drivetrain moving. Came from a WRX and this thing is nearly the same just done by Mercedes and I love it. I’m not really all that in to the launch control so don’t care for any deficient there. But yes I think the warmup thing is a little long but being real, it’s simply got to be allowed to warm up and not much longer than other acceptable car warmups so no biggy for me. I think it seems so long because it actually displays the gearbox temperature so we become mindful of that. Not all cars show that, and the gearbox is the one that takes the longest. For instance my WRX didn’t show it, so as long as the oil and the coolant was up to temp, so far as I was aware I was ready to fang it. Might have thought otherwise if my WRX had of showed me the gearbox temperature though!! For me, the biggest gripe is that although it’s fast on paper, it didn’t feel fast stock. So I took mine to stage 2 and it’s a fair bit better but of course I want more still. Apparently the high pressure fuel pump is what limits this car and it’s a tricky design to get sorted, which tuners are working on at the moment. Apparently once that’s sorted, with a bigger turbo we could be seeing 600-700hp. I’m hanging out for that, as apparently the engine is otherwise built for it (forged). And then my other gripe which is strange you didn’t mention is the throttle response from stock. I’m not talking just from a standstill (which can’t be fixed), but even on the fly, you have to press so deep in the pedal to get a good response. I’ve fixed this with a throttle controller from DTUK. Cranked that up to a race setting and it’s now way better, even on street. Just twitch the pedal and the car takes off which is really how performance cars should be. Handling is of course amazing for a street car. No complaint. So all in all, I think it’s a great little car.

[@StefABtv]

Agree man. Great summary! Thanks for taking the time to write it! Will be helpful to this that read it 👏

[@pentastarshipz493]

hey man, how would we identify if the 45 equipped with lock diff? any button whatsoever?

[@jtjt7337]

@@pentastarshipz493 I’ve since sold mine but from what I remember there was a website where you can enter the car VIN and it lists the options. Sorry, been so long I can’t remember the website. Maybe a Mercedes dealership could look it up as well.

[@mikehawk120]

We can’t get the A45 here stateside, so I loaded out a GLA45, love it.

[@mikehawk120]

Dude, same here, irs like we think the same.

[@papamabotja]

geez i can finally afford to buy this car on the preowned market, and i dont know if i should cause of the potential issues i may have with the car :-( have a lot of thinking to do.

[@theknightkids7945]

Currently trying to figure out the best way to import this to the states, I need it! It's hit my hatchback list to a tee.

[@Shadow-lq7rx]

buy the gla 45

[@johnyutah9542]

These safety measures are put in to place to stop idiots blowing the motor up. You can't just jump in it and thrash.

[@carmaniacable]

Stef ABtv, Could you advice me to , Which should I buy . A45 or CLA45 ? The looks , I like CLA45 better.

[@StefABtv]

Pretty much the same car just different looks. Same engine and gearbox

[@zaink7037]

If you want to stand out I'd get the A45 with the aero pack. The CLA is more of a sleeper and people won't really notice it as the AMG line models look just about the same.

[@AK-qe3pz]

The engine on my A45 is also built by Michael Feest 😉

[@StefABtv]

👏👏

[@alisinamohammadi7648]

I have one same one as this no negatives dream to drive

[@bernardo290499111]

I’m 20 years old and had mine for 2 years now, I totally disagree with the statement “the sensation of speed just isn’t there, it feels too well built”. The car is indeed well built, and for sheer fun that is, every upshift pulls you back in a way that the driving experience feel like a mixture of rally and go-kart... And that’s what the RS3s miss the most, it’s faster than the A45 but it has even more turbo lag and lacks emotion. My car is stage 2 and straight piped, that’s the real deal, but indeed it sucks to drive it slow.

[@stevecole1984]

Thanks Stef would love to drive one at some point , I dont think it is something I could own. Not a big fan of the wing.

[@joeparker4355]

You can get them without the wing

[@stevecole1984]

@@joeparker4355 I didnt know that. Cheers

[@joeparker4355]

@@stevecole1984 no worries mate, glad i could help.

[@kioshy_.]

Doesnt look as good without it eheh

[@futurenewmedia]

Great car but my biggest gripe with my old Edition 1 was the constant rattle from the seatbelt pivot right besides your ear 😬 I found the steering feel was also far to light at speed and lock to lock for a small car to be poor. Dropping down and holding gear into tight roundabouts on dual carriageways was another annoyance. Have a new C63 now and very happy with it 👍

[@benlabi4566]

I got the A200 auto which looks amazing. Bit of lag going through the gears. Wondering what I can do to speed this up. Does the same in sports mode

[@mohammmedj]

Great review but i hate how how you stop the explanation to play with those shifters its annoying, but in general its a good review 👍🏻

[@peedeegt]

How often are you actually gonna launch it though? So basically, the worse things about it are the fact you have to wait a couple of miles for the gearbox to warm up and to use the launch control? Are you gonna be launching it and thrashing it on your commute to work every morning? And you chopped it in for a 1.8 alfa? Each to their own I guess.

[@StefABtv]

For me if you are going to say the car does 0-60 in 4.2 it should be able to do it every time. Not when it feels like it. Personally never had a car that took so long to warm up in order to drive it properly. If you don’t want to drive it properly then buy an A180. But when everything is up to temp and the car does let you launch it’s a rocket.

[@peedeegt]

I totally get your point, however, why do you think Mercedes make it like that? If you’re thrashing your car from cold first thing in the morning, then it’s going to cause issues. It’s a 2.0 pushing nearly 400bhp so it’s highly strung as it is. Mercedes put the restriction on it as protection for both the engine and the gearbox. You can launch it and thrash it as many times as you like when it’s warmed up.....which is when you should thrash it anyway, not from a cold start.

[@thatebutuoyguy788]

Looks good but also a little weird in aesthetics. 400hp from a 2litre 4 pot is madness. I just traditionally like to see that kind of performance from a big sporty car not something your gramma would hop into on a Sunday morning to the market for biscuits and tea with an absolute garish AliExpress tacked on spoiler.

[@S2000Y]

@@StefABtv Mate, you need to go on a mechanical engineering course coupled with fluid viscosity to understand your frustrations with the AMG and the warming up period.

[@S2000Y]

@@peedeegt He knows zip about cars, he bought a 4C for christ's sake, a total nightmare of a car

[@stevewhite5554]

Taking all that you said into account, should I buy one ?

[@StefABtv]

Yes

[@leemizrahi5977]

Dont know where people are getting there costs from . Service A is around £450 service B which is the big service is £780 from UK main dealers .

[@jamesid2846]

Well....I did want this car.

[@JustMe-pq7je]

Younger audience? I am 67 and will be driving one of them soon. Lol

[@billwilson6096]

Hey Stef I thought the A45 was now history, time to forget it and move on with your new exciting Alpha.

[@StefABtv]

A45 is gone. I still had videos on it that needed to come out.

[@billwilson6096]

Stef ABtv, Just pulling your chain Stef, all in good humour. Still enjoying your great videos.

[@Bluewhite13]

Can someone answer me this😂 i am a bmw owner for many years and first thing for me is the driving experience and i love to have a car that is fun to drive like most minis,bmw,ford and etc..is the a45 a fun to drive car in terms of handling and steering feel or is better for accelerating in a straight line and having fun with the exhaust noise?the a45 except bmw is my favourite car all these years and im thinking of buying one but im afraid that maybe i wont like it.spoiler:i bought a 2021 a200 amg line and sold it because i didnt like the driving experience

[@JIMMYHIBBS1]

100% you need the aero kit on these.

[@Luuuugn]

how many liters per 100km it consume? if you drive it "normal/daily"

[@kioshy_.]

9, on sport maybe 12

[@Luuuugn]

@@kioshy_. Oh, thats really bad for such small engine

[@kioshy_.]

@@Luuuugn meh, i dont think so, for the car that it is

[@rg9710]

You are angry about your Car not let you destroy it?

[@steveaustin9386]

This A45 is on my wife's to buy list.......however watching this I've just taken it off. Thanks, you just saved me a fair few thousand $$$.

[@spookyreaper1702]

Hey in the U.K. what’s the price difference between the facelift rs3 and this a45?

[@StefABtv]

About 10k I think. May be wrong but RS3 is much more expensive

[@spookyreaper1702]

Stef ABtv thanks for the reply I’ve been stuck between the 2, in South Africa there’s like a 500k difference between the full house a45 and rs3. Do you think the rs3 is worth it for being a little faster?

[@nash3001]

@@spookyreaper1702 its not a little bit faster its a lot faster (check carwow video on them both), but mind the new a45 is coming out towards the end of this year

[@zerexxx2]

@@nash3001 its not a lot faster lol and the carwow video is absurd because they take the 360hp a45 and not the facelift which is 381 hp and clearly faster. Old rs3 and old a45 facelift are actually really close in performance

[@sandro14esandro14e]

🤤

[@johncorr6627]

£65 a week fuel, result! perfect for my commute to Scotland every day. And the insurance is £1000 a service ?? what are you talking about.

[@ScepticFrog]

I've always liked these, anyhow to switch them farts off? If not, then that's a bad from me - that would drive me mental every day, time and a place you know...

[@jtjt7337]

Sceptic Frog The A45 farts are off in “comfort mode”. The car drives about 95% as hard in comfort mode as the others (S, S+, and R if you have the option), by my butt dyno. I’ve got a facelift myself and yeh am a bit over the farts so I mostly do comfort in manual shift and then flick to R for the full performance.

[@danwilson1983]

Thought u was selling it?

[@StefABtv]

It’s gone. This video was filmed a few months back

[@danwilson1983]

You getting the new a45s?

[@MJNGaming]

Sell me your wheels before you sell up, I'm looking for a silver set x

[@StefABtv]

Already gone mate I’m afraid

[@Mr-tp2ep]

@@StefABtv why are you afraid?

[@gobjectz5225]

I’d rather a M140i I think

[@tariqmohammed8505]

i thought you are selling this

[@StefABtv]

It’s gone. Video was filmed before it was sold

[@chrisemmerson6]

Well it would of been a good video if you actually stated some more accurate figures for potential buyers.. you don’t even say about your own experience on MPG which is a big one. If you’re going to do a video like this, do it properly!

[@StefABtv]

If you go to my channel I have lots of videos on it. There is a whole video on MPG, a video on performance, a video of it on the autobahn I also linked the playlist to this video. Go check it out

[@squeelerjakeaxcradle7095]

I have owned many Mercedes and the A class models plus the mighty A45. My gripe is that anyone under the age 40 shouldn’t be allowed to own one because, for 1 it’s too powerful plus they won’t have any real road experience in your 20s plus high car insurance and the fact when your a boy racer you have no consideration or care for anyone on the road but yourself and you could potentially kill others or yourself by showing off to a bunch of chavs in the back seat. This believe it or not has happened many times on the uk roads. They should introduce a professional car course before they could even own 1 so that they can learn how to drive it correctly and whereabouts and it’s power so they don’t become a idiot or dead on the road that puts everyone else’s car insurance to spike because of the chavs let loose on our roads. I agree not all young lads are ignorant on the road but a good majority are just stupid show offs. My best friend was killed in his Cosworth doing exactly this showing off and died instantly into a truck coming the other way he was 22. Luckily for me l wasn’t with him at that time. He’s now in a cemetery 🪦 this is how quick your life can end over showing off and speed.

[@jackcampbell7848]

I’ve seen people 40 and over driving like this too. Don’t pretend that age is the issue. Fair enough its a lot of car for someone under say 25 but what you’re saying is a load of rubbish

[@Murph_82]

The ugly.. The spoiler!

[@j.sternmercedes-benz2754]

Oh my God... the steering wheel is on the wrong side..😜😜😜

[@StefABtv]

😂😂

[@ixx_abidulprogamerzz_xxi6552]

How

[@combitz]

Dog of a car, Brand new 50k fully spec'd and after 9 days my gearbox started errors, crunch yep, merc had it 9 times and never fixed it, sports exhaust failed, warm up is horrific and the throttle lag at times, you can see it in the video when Stef leans forward expecting power and it just fails. Spend your hard earned dollar elsewhere. I'll never own another Merc after this experience, they were found wanting.

[@abarthspider3479]

Incorrect. It is 0 to 100km in 4.2 sec. My Golf R does it in 4.1 stage 1. 😏

[@spittinvenom9843]

But it will always be a Gulf R not an A45 for that .1 second 😜

[@AF-nf4yf]

1k service for a 4cyl is to high imho..

[@MatterBe]

*cries in american*

[@Jamie7ee]

£1000 a service, 👀 wow. 😰

[@StefABtv]

Not cheap. You could go to a specialist for less or get a service plan

[@streetcat666]

Dude why are you paying a £1000 a service? My 2018 c63s is less than £400 a service at main dealer.

[@anthonyrichardson24]

Mr T mine’s in next week for its 1st major service which is £945:05p , nearly dropped me phone when I was told , the minor services are about £4/500 depending on what needs to be done

[@streetcat666]

ANTHONY RICHARDSON yours being an a45 or c63 dude?

[@anthonyrichardson24]

Mr T 2016 A45

[@Kraken2681994]

Moaning about the car not launching until its reached optimal temperature is a load of pish, no ?

[@sporkeh90]

I cant take you seriously holding the steering wheel like that dude, what are you doing..

[@StefABtv]

Like what?

[@crocoman776]

Looks boring. I love the visual styling. Each to their own.

[@pereldh5741]

It sounds horrible!! Fake farts etc. I like the new front end tho.

[@motormusic1]

£1k for a service, no thanks ill keep my 330d msport

[@TVperson1]

It's an AMG, it's supposed to make you look like a tool.

[@Pasthim]

4 mins in you've told me absolutely nothing. Next!

[@StefABtv]

Well that’s a shame.

[@CubbyHouseFilms]

I have one and have experienced none of these probs - btw terrible sound

[@erik_1402]

You just don’t deserve that car, ah!

[@Car1750]

So it’s rubbish 🤣

[@michelepapagna6693]

You don t understand a thing

[@razvyrazva2006]

11:43 minutes of saying nothing really related to the car and its issues...