Ten days ago I traded my 2007 MCSm Coupe for a 2009 MCm Clubman. I ordered both cars with the HiFi option. I hadn't seen any articles about changes in the HiFi, so I expected the Clubman's to sound about the same as the coupe's. But now I wish I had the hardtop here in the yard so I could A/B compare the two.

The difference I am perceiving is a much bigger bass in the 2009 Clubman. I am not a guy who jacks-up the controls. I almost invariably leave the bass and treble at 0 (neutral). Having played the stereo a few times in ten days, I have had the urge to crank the bass down. It seems abnormally strong. It's not just the announcers' phony, boomy voices. Everything has a deeper, bigger sound at the low end.

Has anyone else noticed this? Is the system revised? Am I hearing just the different resonance of the cars' interiors and materials?

Both cars ride on 16" runflats and sport suspension, but the Clubman rides smoother and quieter... Maybe I am now able to hear what was there all the time in the coupe -- masked by road, tire, and engine noise?

 

I can't answer your question about changes but I can say the interior acoustics between a coupe and a Clubman could have an effect on the amount of bass you hear. Clubman has a much larger interior. Even with the 2 side by side with the exact same system I feel they would sound different.

 

No real changes to the hardware but the amp on the HiFi can be updated for software. This may make for a preceived difference in bass output. But the most likely difference is the size of the cabin.

The larger cabin allows for better bass response. You can check this by opening a window as well as the bass with increase slightly when a window is open.

 

It would be interesting to know if they no longer filter out the bass to the rear speakers.

 

HiFi cars never have had a filter on the rears. but it would be interesting to know if they have corrected it for the standard (non hifi) cars.