400-mile Mercedes AMG CLA drifts and vibrates for turbo engine feel from electric motors

Mercedes is joining the growing list of legacy automakers that are trying to recreate what a racy gas-powered car of yesteryear feels like with their electric vehicles.

Mercedes-AMG has revealed the electric CLA 45, a 680-horsepower sedan with a shooting brake version that ditches its predecessor's turbo engine for three axial-flux electric motors, yet somehow still tries to sound, shift, and even drift like one.

Unlike Porsche's E-Shift, here the fire-on-all-cylinders turbo drive mode is called AMGFORCE S+, but it still ushers in combustion noises, simulated gear change interruptions, and seats that shake when shifting. The sounds are built from over 1,600 recordings sampled from a real AMG A 45 S rather than a synthesized loop. Mercedes is betting that real audio, mixed live rather than looped, is the difference between a convincing simulation and a party trick.

Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 4MATIC+ specs and features

The specifications of the new Mercedes AMG EV, however, back the fake engine simulation theater with a top speed of 168 mph. The CLA 45's 1,759 Nm of torque can launch it from 0 to 62 mph in 3.0 seconds, too, or 2.7 with a one-foot rollout. The huge 94 kWh battery offers 416 miles of range, while the 330 kW charging takes just 22 minutes to hit 80% charge. Tesla's Model 3 Performance does the same sprint a bit faster and without all the turbo engine simulation, though.

Hyundai got there first with the Ioniq 5 N, and the newer Ioniq 6 N doubles down with its Active Sound and e-Shift setup, letting drivers pick between a V8 roar, EV tones, or a futuristic option, plus the usual faux shift points and torque interruptions. Porsche and Lexus have followed so that they give drivers the oomph and feel of a gas-powered engine instead of the EV's typical quiet and linear single-speed acceleration. 

Mercedes has tried to avoid sounding cartoonish by leaning on real-world recordings and physical feedback like shaking seats. The AMG kit looks the part, too, with an active aero wing and adaptive dampers, indicating that the dog and pony show of recreating a gas car feel may become the standout feature in EVs made by famed legacy automakers.