The long wait for the Audi RS3 Sportback rival is finally over! The Mercedes Benz A45s has finally arrived in South Africa. The all-new A45 features a wider body kit, revised suspension, larger alloy wheels as well as larger brake callipers, a sportier interior and the world’s most powerful 2.0-litre engine.

For the first time ever the A45 and CLA45 gets an S variant which will be the only variants that will be offered for the South African market. The A45S and CLA45s are powered by the world’s powerful 4 cylinder engine, Mercedes M139  2,0 litre turbocharged engine which produces 310kW of power, 500Nm of torque and propels it from 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds. The A45 is powered by the same M139 which produces 280kW of power,480Nm of torque and does 0-100km/h in 4.0 seconds. Both models use an 8-speed Dual-Clutch-Transmission.

The interior of the is similar to that of the normal A-class model, Although in the A45 you get AMG sports seats which are covered in leather as well as Alcantara with yellow stitching, a leather and Alcantara dashboard with yellow trims, yellow seatbelts, as well as an AMG steering wheel, stitched in yellow.

The A45S has a stiffer suspension with uprated springs, adaptive dampers as well as uprated antiroll bars. The new A45 has a new drive mode which is known as the ‘DRIFT MODE”. This mode sends most of the car’s power to rear wheels to enable it to drift.

If a hatchback isn’t you’re style then you can get the CLA45S which has the same engine and power output as the A45S. If the sloping roofline, frameless doors isn’t your style then perhaps you should wait for the A45S sedan which will be available at a later stage. The A45S Hatchback starts from R995 108.