MERCEDES A45 OMG (not a typo)

MERCEDES A45 OMG (not a typo)

It starts with a warning. The kind a rabid wolf might give you right before it launches at your throat. This is good. Because with modes of driving from deceptively demure to downright deranged, you need to feel the fear of the A45 AMG.

World renowned for their superlative performance, AMG engines are precision built and individually hand-fitted, even completed with a plaque signed by the master engineer who assembled it.

Four-wheel drive, 360bhp, 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds, and the deeply seductive rasp that accompanies every acceleration, places the word race firmly in front of this car. It is blisteringly fast, but the superb handling and standout aerodynamics mean that at 155mph you barely notice it’s out of comfort mode. And therein lies the danger – the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Talking of comfort, yes, it comes with all the sleek design and quality kit synonymous with Mercedes, and yes, it does the daily drive. But what’s the point of fitting bucket seats if you can’t fuse your passenger’s stomach to their spine with launch control? And limiting both your vocabularies to just one phrase over the course of a short test drive. O.M.G.