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BMW M Models vs Mercedes-Benz A45

What's the difference?

VS
BMW M Models
BMW M Models

$126,300 - $263,900

2025 price

Mercedes-Benz A45
Mercedes-Benz A45

$56,990 - $88,888

2020 price

Summary

2025 BMW M Models
2020 Mercedes-Benz A45
Safety Rating

Engine Type
BI Turbo V8, 4.4L

Turbo 4, 2.0L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded/Electric

Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
10.3L/100km (combined)

8.9L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • Awkward boot
  • Brake and steering feel
  • Low on hooliganism

  • Rear head- and legroom limited
  • Looks a bit too low-key without the aero pack
  • Can be thirsty
2025 BMW M Models Summary

Balancing luxury car comfort, hot hatch agility and supercar speed is no easy task, yet that is what made the six previous generations of BMW's M5 so iconic. 

In seventh-generation ‘G90’ guise, the M5 has another skeleton in the cupboard: the toughest emissions regulations that Europe, and now Australia, have ever seen.

A twin-turbo V8 was untenable and going battery electric was not an option. Plug-in hybrid was the only answer. For the new M5, BMW combined a revised 4.4-litre ‘S68’ bent eight with a punchy electric motor for 535kW and 1000Nm

Problem is, the G90 is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest BMW M cars of all time, especially in CS trim. And thanks to a circa-600kg weight hike to nearly 2500kg, the new M5's 0-100km/h claim is actually slower than the old 'F90' M5. 

Doesn’t exactly sound like a big leap forward, does it?

A drive through the Central West of NSW and around the iconic Mount Panorama racing circuit gave us answers to two questions. Does the M5 work on Australia roads, and does BMW M's latest super-sedan represent progress?

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2020 Mercedes-Benz A45 Summary

Driving the first-generation Mercedes-AMG A 45 in 2013 was an intense, noisy, brutal experience and I loved every bone-shaking, ear-bleeding moment of it.

But I’m older now, married and have children, and while this is also an intense, noisy, brutal experience I now prefer cars to be less like a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week continuous cage fight. So, I was surprised to find the new-generation A45 S has grown up a bit, too.

So, like me, is the new Mercedes-AMG A 45 S 4Matic+ not as quick as it used to be, and does it have a dad bod, now, too? Far from it. If anything, it’s matured into the serious weapon of a hot hatch it was always supposed to be.

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Deep dive comparison

2025 BMW M Models 2020 Mercedes-Benz A45

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