Mercedes-Benz A45 vs Audi SQ8

What's the difference?

The Mercedes-AMG A 45 4Matic+ may have grown up a bit in that it’s not as noisy or uncomfortable as the first-generation version which arrived in 2013, But if anything, its more portent than ever. Superb Mercedes-AMG craftmanship, outstanding performance and good value as far as bang for your buck goes.

The Audi SQ8 isn’t your typical performance SUV. It’s more refined and less flashy. The tech can be more complicated than it needs to be and if you’re wanting that V8 soundscape, you won’t find it here.

However, the handling and on road experience are superb plus you can comfortably haul the family around and look good doing it.

When I went to pick up the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S 4Matic+ I walked right past it and then like that lost and confused John Travolta in Pulp Fiction internet memes, wandered around before asking where the car was.

That’s because I was looking for something with a gigantic spoiler on the roof and probably hi-vis green with stripes. But the car assigned to me was the A 45 S in its standard form, and the styling is subtle enough for it disappear into a crowded car park like James Bond into a lavish dinner party.

But like Bond, chances are the A 45 S is the most hardcore person in the room, it just doesn’t walk in announcing it to everybody.

Look closely and you'll see that the A 45 S is not just another small prestige car. There’s the 90mm quad exhaust poking out of the chunky diffuser, the giant 'Panamericana' grille, and the angry looking front apron.

Then, there are the 19-inch matt black alloy wheels wrapped in low-profile Michelin rubber and enormous brake discs with their red calipers, all barely contained by the pumped up front wheel guards which are much bigger than those on a regular A-Class.

The cost option my test car wore was the 'Mountain Grey Metallic' paint, but if anything it made the A 45 look even more covert.

The cabin is small but luxurious and sporty with two-tone leather upholstery (the red and black 'Lugano' leather in my test car is a no-cost option), there’s the microfibre-clad AMG steering wheel, brushed aluminium trim, metal-trimmed pedals and the large display panel (it’s actually two screens joined) is also standard.

The A 45 S is a hatchback measuring 4445mm in length, 1850mm wide and 1412mm tall. Not keen on a hatch but want something with similar dimensions? The CLA 45 S is the A 45 S’s four-door twin-under-the-skin and is just as much of a weapon.

And if you want your A 45 S to look more aggressive, you can option the 'AMG Aero Package' which will see a giant rear wing fitted to the roof.

Or you can buy the Edition 1 version of the A 45 S which includes the big spoiler and shouty design bits to makes sure everybody knows you’re the assassin in the room.

The SQ8 is a gorgeous coupe-style SUV that looks purposeful and poised with its balanced proportions and wide stance. It’s stands apart from its siblings thanks to the S-styled nose treatment and our test model's black accent package makes the honeycomb grille look even sportier. 

The update sees new air intake vents at the front, matrix LED headlights and new chrome exhaust tailpipes.

The upgraded 23-inch alloys with red calipers behind them hint at what’s under the bonnet, as does the Sakhir (sack-heer) Gold paintwork which is aptly named after the one-off Grand Prix race circuit.

The interior looks luxuriously appointed with the black Valcona leather upholstery and the dash is headlined by three high-end technology screens. The SQ8 also gets sport seats featuring a quilted design and 'S' badging but there’s not much else separating it from its siblings.

Audi fans will love the the SQ8's more understated interior but newcomers might be surprised it's not as flashy as some of its rivals.

Along with good performance and handling, part of the appeal of hot hatches is that they’re practical… to a degree. The A 45 S is a small car, but it has four doors, five seats and a boot.

The cabin is small, no doubt about it, but even at 191cm tall I had plenty of room while driving, the seating position is perfect actually, although sitting behind my driving position saw my knees just touching the seat back.

Headroom is getting limited back there, but I still had space. Could you get away with the A 45 S as a family car? I had my family in it for a while, but there’s just the three of us and my son is pre-school-aged. So, a young, small family, yes… until it starts to grow.

Cabin storage is good with two cupholders in the rear centre fold-down armrest along with small door pockets and seat-back nets. Up front there are another two cupholders, giant door pockets, a big split-opening centre console bin and a tray for the wireless charger big enough to fit an iPhone 11 Pro Max.   

Boot space is good at 370 litres. The big shiny CarsGuide suitcase fitted in easily (see images) and apart from the wide-opening of the boot, another hatch power of practicality is that you can fold the rear seats down to open up more cargo carrying space, and in the A 45 S’s case that’s 1210 litres.

I’ve mentioned the wireless charger but there are also four USB-C ports (two up front and two in the rear), back seat passengers also have directional air vents, which is another bonus, along with dark tinted windows (welcome when my son was sitting back there in his car seat).

The upper large SUV tag certainly makes sense when it comes to cabin space because there's a lot of it. Both rows enjoy ample head- and legroom and access is great thanks to wide door apertures and high ground clearance.

Comfort is high with well-padded seats and thanks to the Sensory Package all but the middle back seater get some luxury extras.

The centre rear position has compromised legroom courtesy of the transmission tunnel, so it's best for a kid. However, the front seats take the cake with their massage, heat and cooling functions and adjustable supports.

Amenities are great throughout the car and the extendable sun visors, rear electric sunshades, soft-close doors and four-zone climate control clinch the practicality deal.

Individual storage is a bit sparse up front with two cupholders, a drink bottle holder in each door and a shallow middle console that realistically only fits a phone.

The glove box is a great size. I can fit my handbag in it, but there are not a lot of areas to pop your smaller items in.

Individual storage is a bit better in the rear as you get two big map pockets, a drink bottle holder in each door, plus two cupholders in the fold-down armrest - so it feels like you have more places for your bits and pieces.

Technology looks amazing but overwhelming to use until you wrap your head around it all. The haptic feedback also gets tired fast. The built-in satellite navigation is super simple while the head-up display and digital instrument cluster feature pull through directions, which is handy.

Charging options are good with each row getting two USB-C ports and a 12-volt socket but the front also enjoys a wireless charging pad. The pad is slow to charge, though, and left my iPhone feeling super hot whenever it was used.

The boot is a good size at 605L and easy to access, too. The sloping roof means larger items have to sit flush with the seats but you shouldn’t have to worry for road trips. 

The back seat has a 40/20/40 split which opens up storage options and this model has a powered tailgate.

There are three fuel-based variants for the Q8 and the model on test is the top-spec SQ8 TFSI quattro. Its mid-life refresh has seen a price hike of $10,015, bringing it's before on-road costs price to $178,815.

Our test vehicle has also been fitted with a few extras, like a 'Sensory Package' ($14,400) which includes a black headliner, upgraded 23-speaker Bang & Olufsen 3D surround sound system, massage function for the front seats, heat function for the rear outboard seats, electric sunshades for the rear row and an air-quality perfume function.

Also fitted are various black and matt carbon accents across/inside the body for a total of $5400, optioned 23-inch alloy wheels ($3000) and specialised 'Sakhir Gold Metallic' paintwork for $1600. Which brings the total MSRP price tag to $203,215.

Even with all of these extras, the SQ8 is still the most affordable performance SUV compared to its nearest rivals as the Porsche Cayenne GTS starts from $212,600 MSRP and the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 outstrips them both at $272,300 MSRP.

As you'd expect the standard features list is robust for the SQ8 and includes premium features like a panoramic sunroof, electric front seats with heating/cooling and memory functions, full-leather upholstery, soft-close doors and a heated steering wheel.

There is a bunch of high-end technology throughout which includes a colour head-up display, 10.1-inch touchscreen multimedia system, 8.6-inch climate control panel, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, satellite navigation, wired/wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio, four USB-C ports, three 12-volt sockets and a wireless charging pad.

Practical features include keyless entry and start, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, dusk-sensing LED headlights, a powered tailgate, adaptive air-suspension and four-zone climate control.

Overall, not a bad list of features for this part of the market and you won't be left wanting.

There may be hot hatches out there which look wilder than the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S 4Matic+ but do they have the most powerful four-cylinder engine ever to go into a mass-produced car? Nope, but the A45 does: it’s a 310kW/500Nm turbo-petrol four.

It doesn’t sound as angry and gravelly as the previous A 45’s engine but it has more grunt (an extra 30kW/25Nm) and is claimed to catapult the hatch from 0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds.

The '4Matic' part of the name indicates the hatch is all-wheel drive and the '+' means it’s a more sophisticated version of the system which allows all of the drive to be sent to one axle, if need be.

What need would that be? The need to drift, of course, which should be up there with other human rights such as clean air, fresh water and free speech.

Yep, the A 45 S comes with 'Drift Mode' (for the racetrack, of course), along with a 'Launch Mode' for perfect-every-time transitions to warp speed.

Changing gears gunslinger-fast is an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Our test vehicle has a 4.0-litre, twin-turbo petrol V8 engine that produces 373kW and 770Nm. That means it sits in the middle of its rivals in terms of outputs with the Mercedes being top-dog with its 450kW/850Nm combo.

Still... the SQ8 is no dainty flower when it comes to power delivery and has an impressive 0-100km/h sprint time of just 4.1 seconds. 

The SQ8 is a full-time all-wheel drive with an eight-speed auto transmission and the whole engine combo delivers a powerful but elegant on-road experience.

Mercedes-AMG says the 2.0-litre, turbo-petrol, four-cylinder in the A 45 S should use 8.9L/100km after a combination of open and urban driving.

My fuel test saw me drive 131km of urban and country roads, plus some motorway sections, and needed 16.9L of premium unleaded petrol to fill the 51-litre tank back to full.

That comes to 12.9L/100km, which is thirsty, but my driving style may have contributed significantly to that high figure.

The official combined (urban/extra-urban) fuel cycle figure is 11.9L/100km, which is lower than its rivals.

My real world usage sits at 12.3L/100km after a mix of open-road and urban driving.

This result is decent for a performance SUV but expect it to be thirsty in an urban environment as the on-board gauge hit the mid-20s in the city.

Based on the large 85L fuel tank theoretical driving range is 714km and around 690 using our real-world result. Respectable for a performance SUV but not as good as some family SUVs.

I wasn’t lying in the introduction to this review. The previous A45 was a pretty intense driving experience. The ride felt brutal, the exhaust note screamed and crackled like somebody had set a wheelie bin full of fireworks alight.

And then there was the sweating. I seemed to sweat a lot driving it and there was nothing wrong with the climate control, that just happens to me when I’m under pressure and excited.

So, has the new-generation A 45 S 4Matic+ gone all soft and quiet on us? No, but things have been toned down a tad.

The exhaust note is not as gruff or loud, and even in 'Sport +' and 'Race' mode it’s still quiet enough to pull into a driveway at night without making enemies of your neighbours.

And the ride is also not as harsh, although even in 'Comfort' mode my wife still found it verging on too firm.

The performance and dynamics, however, felt as sharp as ever.

Acceleration is supercar quick at 3.9 seconds. My gawd, you needed a Ferrari F40 to do that in the mid-’80s, and even now the new Mercedes-AMG GT S supercar gets there only a tenth of a second earlier, and it has a twin-turbo V8.

Top speed for the A 45 S is electronically limited to 270km/h. But hot hatches aren’t really about straight-line speed, they’re more about bent-line speed. You know, corners.

So, I took the A 45 S on the twisty roads I take anything that calls itself sporty. The agility of the A 45 S is outstanding thanks to a rigid chassis that handles a change in direction as quickly and easily as you can turn your head.

The brakes bite hard when they have to, and the all-wheel drive hatch scrambles tenaciously out of corners.

A racetrack is really the best place to truly test a serious sports car's limits and our own James Cleary did just that when he drove the A 45 S at its international launch.

As a daily driver, though, for somebody who occasionally likes to get into it on a curvy road the A 45 S is comfortable enough to live with, but hard enough to remain engaging and dynamic when you get the chance to have a squirt.

The SQ8 delivers on power because it’s effortless to get up to speed and the pick up is super responsive when the start/stop function is turned off (otherwise there can be some lag).

The engine doesn’t sound like a big and grumbly V8, though. There are some growls but it’s mainly when you turn the engine on and not to be obnoxious about it but if you're in a V8, you want to hear it as it’s part of the fun of having a big bruiser engine like this!

What doesn’t help the V8 soundscape is the fact the cabin sounds like a noise-cancelling headphone inside. There is a small hum from road noise but it’s pretty darn quiet. Almost EV quiet at times but that means the driving experience leans more towards refined and elegant rather than sporty and fun. 

The SQ8's handling is great - super direct steering, stable in corners and well-rounded passenger comfort when it comes to suspension.

You still get road feedback, which I like as a driver, but it’s not too stiff thanks to the adaptive suspension.

The SQ8 is a large car but you wouldn’t know it when it comes to parking. The 360-degree view camera is clear and the dynamic guidelines help you to position this big unit even the smallest of car parks.

The SQ8 has a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing done in 2019 and features eight airbags, including side chest airbags for both rows. It's common to only find the latter in the front – so that’s great for a family car.

The SQ8 scored well across its ANCAP individual protection segments, scoring 93 per cent for adult occupant, 88 per cent for child occupant, 71 per cent for vulnerable road user and 75 per cent for its safety assist.

The SQ8 has a long list of safety features including blind-spot monitoring, safe exit warning, driver attention monitor, fatigue reminder, matrix LED lights, SOS call, forward collision warning, rear collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping/departure aids, tyre pressure monitoring, adaptive cruise control (with stop & go and lane keeping), park assist and a 360-degree reversing camera plus front and rear parking sensors.

The rear row features two ISOFIX child seat mounts and three top tether anchors.

The SQ8 has AEB with car, pedestrian, and cyclist detection and is operational from 10 – 250km/h but it is usual to see this system operate from as low as 4.0km/h.

The Mercedes-AMG A 45 S 4Matic+ is covered by a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Servicing is recommended at 12 month/20,000km intervals. Servicing is capped at $850 for the first year’s visit, $1200 for the next and $1600 for the third.

The SQ8 comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty, which is a normal term for the class.

It also comes with capped servicing for five years or up to 75,000km and averages $920 per service, which is very good for the segment.

Servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12-months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.