Gone are the days when you could jump in the old Aussie-built family wagon, mash the accelerator, and have some fun on the dusty driveway.
Nowadays, most family wagons are economical SUVs that will do anything in their power to stop you breaking traction — and after seeing things like this, it's probably a good thing.
As you will probably know, most performance brands are ditching the traditional rear-wheel drive layout in favour of technologically advanced all-wheel drive layouts that put power down a lot more effectively.
Because of this, these same manufacturers are having to build 'drift' modes into their cars, a driving mode that throws caution into the wind, and lets the driver loose with all the power, and usually, a rear-wheel bias.
The brand new AMG A45 S is a prime example of this, once you have slotted the transmission into manual, you flick it into Sport+, turn of ESP, confirm the changeover, and you're away.
In a video that has been uploaded to YouTube by Carscoops, Mercedes shows off the slidey-mode alongside a quick pull down the track that shows just how quick the incredibly-hot hatch is.
Packing a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the A45 S is said to be able to make a monumental 310kW, and 500Nm of torque. These might not seem like big numbers by today's performance car standards, but getting that sort of power out of a 2.0litre is impressive.
Mercedes has claimed that the A45 S can do 0-100km/h in just under 4 seconds, while the slightly de-tuned non-S variant does it in four seconds flat.
Availability and release dates for the pairing are yet to be announced for New Zealand. However, it's expected that they'll start touching down in various markets by the end of this year.