2027 Mercedes-AMG CLA45 – now an EV, 3 motors, 680 PS, 670 km WLTP, fake engine noise and gearshifts

It’s safe to say that the Mercedes-AMG 45 series has been extremely popular ever since the A45 came into being all the way back in 2013. What seemed a sacrilegious idea (the purveyor of muscly V8s making a turbo four-cylinder? Surely not) turned out to be inspired, as the cars wasted no time finding buyers – especially Malaysians who felt that a Volkswagen Golf R was a bit tepid.

At the centre of these über hatches, sedans, wagons and SUVs is the engine – Affalterbach’s rip-roaring 2.0 litre turbo four that is a banger in every sense of the word, terrorising the roads with pops and crackles. Debuting as the M133 with 360 PS, it now makes upwards of 400 PS as the M139, and has even found its way into the C63 (now that was a mistake, but a story for another time) and Lotus Emira.

But it’s time to put all that aside. The AMG CLA45 is back, but just as the standard C174 has become a pure EV (although there is a hybrid C178 available), so too has its hopped-up sibling. We can already hear the 45 brigade speeding up the North-South Highway, pitchforks in tow.

In an effort to placate the faithful, Mercedes has imbued the CLA45 with far more firepower than it has any right to have, deriving its three motors (one at the front, two at the rear) from the gopping new GT 4-Door Coupé. The pancake-like axial motors produce a peak of 360 PS (225 kW) on the front axle and a whopping 680 PS (500 kW) at the rear, although you can’t combine the two outputs like you would on other EVs.

The motors are instead capable of a continuous total of 612 PS (450 kW), and even when everything is lit up, the maximum the car can produce is that 680 PS. Even so, the CLA45 is able to sprint from zero to 100 km/h in three seconds flat, and despite being shorn of the standard car’s two-speed rear gearbox, it will max out at 250 km/h (270 km/h with the AMG Dynamic Plus package).

Not convinced? Mercedes will have you know that the CLA45 comes with an AMGForce S+ drive mode that simulates the four-pot sound fans have loved and lost, as well as gearshifts through the steering paddles; the seats will even rumble to mimic a combustion engine. Exclusive to the AMG Dynamic Plus is the Race mode with permanent all-wheel drive, a sharpened throttle and stiffened dampers, but no simulation hijinks.

Meanwhile, the 94 kWh NMC battery has been lifted off the GLC and C-Class EVs, albeit with optimised temperature control to suit the high-performance application. The near 10 kWh bump over the standard car – and the ability to disconnect the front motors unless traction or hard acceleration calls for it – means that even with all this power, the CLA45 is still capable of a respectable WLTP-rated range of over 670 km, or 640 km for the Shooting Brake wagon that was revealed concurrently at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The new battery also marginally raises the DC fast charging capacity to 330 kW, allowing the CLA45 to be topped up from 10 to 80% in just 22 minutes and providing up to 270 km of range with just ten minutes of charging. No word on whether the 400-volt DC-DC adapter – controversially offered only as an option on the standard car – is available, but the car does support up to 22 kW of AC charging.

Suspension consists of conventional MacPherson struts at the front and multilinks at the rear, equipped with three-way adaptive dampers and real torque vectoring across the rear axle. As per the standard car, the CLA45 is able to perform most of its braking through recuperation (even down to a standstill), although of course it still has massive disc brakes that measure 390 mm at the front, clamped by six-piston callipers.

As those following Formula 1 this year will know, battery deployment is crucial when driving an electrified vehicle on track, and pushing out maximum power everywhere is not necessarily the best way to achieve the fastest lap times. To that end, the CLA45’s Predictive Performance Manager (PPM) is able to reduce or increase power depending on the section of the circuit, optimising performance over extended periods.

Mercedes has done its best to give the CLA’s slightly milquetoast design some added visual appeal. The 45 gains Panamericana vertical stripes across the closed-off gloss black grille, along with the typical AMG “A-wing” that forms the central air intake and air curtain inlets.

The gaudy three-pointed star headlights remain, but the central illuminated strip has been swapped out for body colour for a more purposeful look, although it can be optioned back on. The front fenders, meanwhile, have been widened to fit both the broader track and wheels that measure either 19 or 20 inches, with lightweight forged rollers also available.

Further back, the CLA45 sports wider side skirts and a large rear diffuser (now without exhaust pipes, obviously), as well as a new multi-position active rear spoiler on both the four-door and the Shooting Brake. This raises at speeds above 145 km/h and is permanently up in AMGForce S+ and Race modes; drivers can also activate it manually using a button on the AMG Performance steering wheel. Inexplicably, the centre section of the full-width taillights (again with the tristars) has also been disabled.

Inside, the CLA’s screen-forward cabin has been gussied up with sports seats and Artico faux leather and Microcut microfibre as standard, while heavily-bolstered AMG Performance pews and genuine leather are on the options list. Of course, you still have a flat dashboard with the MBUX Superscreen, fitted with a 10.25-inch instrument display and 14-inch infotainment and passenger touchscreens. This runs on the Mercedes-Benz Operating System (MB.OS) with ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing and Google Gemini generative AI support.

The centre display incorporates AMG apps such as the AMG Performance Menu, which shows vehicular data such as power outputs of the motors, lateral acceleration and tyre temperature. There’s also AMG Set-Up for configuring various powertrain and chassisd settings, as well as the AMG Track Pace lap timer.

With the ICE ditched, the CLA45 is surprisingly practical, offering the same 405 litres of boot space (455 litres for the Shooting Brake) and a 101 litre front boot. However, the cars are only available as four-seaters, with a cubby hole taking the place of the centre seat base.

That is the long and short of the new C174 Mercedes-AMG CLA45, which will no doubt cause a furore among 45 enthusiasts. What do you think – is this the new menace on our roads, or will it struggle to find buyers? Let us know in the comments.

GALLERY: 2027 Mercedes-AMG CLA45 Shooting Brake

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