Ford Mustang vs Mercedes-Benz CLA45

What's the difference?

The new Ford Mustang GT was not designed for Paris.

Fighting through the morning peak hour rush (which seems to extend through the middle of the day and the afternoon), the new Mustang feels like a caged animal. Which is appropriate, given the car’s namesake is a wild horse that exists to roam the American wilderness.

But once we finally break the shackles of Parasian traffic we find ourselves getting to let this Mustang gallop across the French countryside and unleash its full potential. But more on that later…

The reason we're driving the Mustang in France is because the American brand wanted to connect it to its new racing program at the famous Le Mans sports car race (you know, the one in the Matt Damon movie, Ford v Ferrari).

No less than Bill Ford, great-grandson of the company’s famous founder, was on-hand to see the Mustang at Le Mans, such is the passion for performance.

Ford (the man, not the company) took the opportunity to declare that the Blue Oval brand is not only committed to internal combustion engines for the foreseeable future, but it will retain the V8 under the bonnet of the Mustang GT for as long as it can legally do so.

Australians will have to wait a few more weeks (maybe months) before the seventh-generation Mustang arrives, but here’s what you can expect when it lands on local roads.

Mercedes-AMG left tongues wagging when it unleashed the original 45 series onto the automotive world seven years ago. It took many forms, including the pioneering A 45 hatch and the unconventional GLA 45 SUV.

That said, we’re here to talk about the third member of that family, the CLA 45 sedan (or coupe if Mercedes-AMG is paying your wage). And no, we don’t mean the old model.

Indeed, the second-generation CLA 45 is here, and it’s packing the most potent series-production four-cylinder engine to date – a title Mercedes-AMG has, of course, held before.

So, is the new CLA 45 a big-step up over its standard-setting predecessor? While it certainly helps that it is now only available in hard-hitting S form in Australia, the only way to really find out is to put it to test. Let’s go!