What are some noticeable conveniences/differences between the 08-11 models versus the 2012's? I dont mean facelift, different wheels, etc...I mean what features are you finding are more convenient and useful? Specifically technology/feature/convenience related.

IE:

Bluetooth audio to stream pandora
Better Nav or better traffic
Rides smoother
Transmission shifts quicker (this one I know for sure after test driving a coupe)
etc etc.

Thinking of moving to the 2012 and frankly it seems MB is always a year or two behind others in terms of technology/convenience...want to know where that line is drawn. BMW for example syncs iPhone apps into the car, so you can access apps directly from the idrive. Dont think we have this stuff, but what do we have that you are finding to be cool? If you came from an 08-11, what do you notice is different?

Can anyone with a 2012 provide some feedback?

To be honest from a utility/ease-of-use perspective, not much has changed.

As you noted, the transmission totally changes the level of driver engagement, but otherwise, the most notable changes are in the infotainment/telematics...the interface/update on the nav system is awesome, and bluetooth really makes it usable to the extent that it's user friendly and non-frustrating.

Beyond that, I guess you could say that the new screen in the main cluster improves ease of use, as it's a lot clearer, cleaner and consequently engaging.

Otherwise, as you noted in your first post, the biggest change to the emotional aspect of the car is the refresh on the exterior and interior...totally different beast.

Hope this gives you the perspective that you were looking for.

Transmission: Much smoother and feels like more power is getting strait to the ground.

Engine: Feels just as strong as my eurocharged/kleeman set up on my 2011 (of course i have the p31 now though....get the p31, you wont regret it)

Engine note: Not as loud as my old car but I was getting tired of the extra noise anyway.

Steering Feel: Much improved. Feels much more precise. Now I now what all those M3 guys are talking about. More confidence.

Suspension: Feels more planted and soaks of ruff pavement much better than the previous model. Feels like you have a set of KW v3s on there.

Seats: Much more livable. They loosened up the grip a bit so you snug into the seat alot more comfortably.

Dash: Incredible improvement. Much more user friendly and looks alot less cheap.

I have the coupe and i cannot fit my golf clubs in the trunk

get lots of compliments from all walks of life....the red calipers really attract onlookers.

i personally like the looks alot better but thats a matter of opinion.

So the coupe's rear seats don't fold?

MBZ seems to make full step improvements and half step improvements in the C class. The C36 made a half step jump to the C43, then a full step jump to the C32 followed by a half step jump to the C55. A full step jump to the 08-11 C63 and a half step jump to the 2012 model. All the cars are better than their predecessors. If money was no object I'd just continue to get the lastest model. My fear is one day the improvements are going to stop as CAFE and smog regs continue to make it harder to yield more performance. I think we are living in the last golden age of automotive performance (the last one ran from 1965 to 1970).

This helps, thanks folks.

What specifically about the interface/nav/multimedia is so different, and whats different about the bluetooth besides it now can stream audio?

It's a bit zippier. Everything seems to flow much better and the screen is very fluid.

As far as interior goes, the car is much better. The interior plastics have been dramatically improved, the leather feels great, the car feels so tight and well built. I'd go as far to say that it's pretty damn close to Porsche quality.

how much quicker are the transmission shifts? also, will it allow a quick 2 step downshift? the tranny now requires me to hold the - button to downshift, but it may drop 3 gears when i just want to have it go down 2.

1.)The MCT transmission can shift in 100ms.

2.)The new MCT transmission has the ability to double clutch downshift.

^ +1 I would also like to know if the new MCT allows for a double downshift quickly

Edit: thanks Hot/Ice

how much quicker are the transmission shifts? also, will it allow a quick 2 step downshift? the tranny now requires me to hold the - button to downshift, but it may drop 3 gears when i just want to have it go down 2.

sorry for the double post.

Don't mention it.

I have to test mine a bit more but I tried to double tap the paddle and it only registered down 1 gear, if I hold it down it does go down a few gears but not sure how many. I haven't really been able to test this thing that much as I am still stuck breaking mine in and not going above 4000 rpm which is very difficult I must say.

My only other experience with a dual cluth tranny was in my wifes GTI and that allowed me to double tap the paddle and down gear for each tap but from my few tests that doesn't seem to be the case with the MCT tranny but maybe I am doing something wrong - still trying to get use to the MCT as I have always driven a manual gearbox.

I just got my coupe and my clubs fit in just fine! I have an OGIO ultralight cart bag. I just have to pull out the driver and lay it in over the top. I was worried that I would have to fold down the rear seat, but no problem!

that's what i feared. sounds like it doesn't double down shift when tapped twice. that was one thing i noticed when i switched from a 335i. my old paddles rev matched and downshifted 2 gears when i tapped twice. the merc only registers one tap then wait a sec, then tap again for the 2nd gear downshift.

it sucks when u don't want WOT one freeways, just 70% for passing or for merging.

ive only eyeballed it with the clubs.....i havent actually tried to stuff them in there yet but i think they will fit if i take all the clubs out of the bag and wedge them in. im going to have to look at the back seats folding down? i didnt even know they did that

to go down two gears deliberately takes patience. you have to be patient and do two solid pulls on the paddles (or shifter). if you need to go all the way down to the lowest gear, just hold down the left paddle for about 1.5 seconds and it works pretty good.

I thought the MCT was just a 7g tronic with a wet start up clutch?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7G-Tronic

The lag you get may just be the cars computer lagging.

it is...it just shifts better now.

I have to admit I was expecting a quick downshift if I pulled twice like other dual clutch systems but I find I have enough power anytime I need it anyways and the hold function does work rather well.

Interesting that quote from wiki clearly says 100ms in "M" mode, maybe I was in C mode when I tried to double tap to down gear 2 gears. I will have to play in "M" mode to see as it seems from that quote that it's only operating at 100ms in "M" mode.

And just so we don't get our terms all mixed up, "double clutching" is more related to rev-matching than it is to grabbing 2 gears on the downshift.

Double-clicking the left paddle on my 335i was fun but doing the "hold and then stomp the loud pedal" on the C63 is brutally sublime.

Ok so I tested the double tap on the paddle/shifter today in "M" mode on the freeway and it does work but you must be on the gas. Here is what I found/tried - In 7th gear, go on the gas and at the same time I quickly double tapped the paddle and the car shifted directly to 5th gear. Now, when I tried this off the gas or on the brake it did not register the the double tap and went to 6th gear. So for those of you that want to simply gear down but not hold the paddle/shifter so it drops to 3rd or 4th at WOT you can simply step on the gas and quickly tap twice or whatever you want and it does register and shift down.

I guess you just need to learn the way the tranny computer thinks and it works flawlessly, hope that helps