My satisfaction is almost the same when locomotives seat together on the shelf.
When I put them on the track satisfaction with 2013/2014 items goes down while satisfaction with 2007/2008 raises since the last ones (at least those I own) have C-Sinus and S-Sine motors. No new lights, sounds, instructions or descriptions in the new items brochures could beat feeling of customer's satisfaction which I get when running locos with qualitative propulsion.

My vote is based on overall quality of the models and the visual appearance of the model.
Maerklin's 2014 release in AC of what was originally a 2008 Trix DC model of the SBB Re 482 weighed heavily on my decision, as did quality control issues with the recently released 37347.
The paintwork on the new Re 482 pales in comparison to the original Trix model. You would think that after the whole debacle with the 37360 Ae 610 (Ae 6/6) that Maerklin would have learned their lesson, but they went and made the exact same mistake again.
In the case of the 37347, the model was delivered with wires between the decoder and one of the LED panels missing. In the good old days (probably before 2008), all features would have been tested before the shell was mounted and this type of error would never have escaped the factory.
I am not going to get into the whole motor issue. The recent Swiss models (Re 4/4II, Re 6/6) still have the classic Maerklin motor, which is fine with me. The motor on the Re 482 is very quiet and seems to be powerful enough to me. I guess time will tell. Removing the PC board and fidgeting around to lubricate the Worm gear seems a little complex. A little cut-out in the chassis side may have made this an easier job.
Based on the issues described with the two models in question, I have to conclude that the current overall quality is inferior to what it was in 2008.

Regards

Mike C

I had to check the "I don't have an opinion", since I haven't had any product mechanical/running quality issues.
The only "issue" I have is the looks of the Dm3 in the special version produced for Tåg&Hobby in Sweden. Isolators look toy-like....

Quality is also something subjective... When it comes to detailing, I must say that (as a steam loco fan) that the steam locos look
better and better throughout the years. When it comes to the mechanical stuff, I have had no issues with the later motor experiments
made by Märklin since they all run fine. However, I have no long term experience with items on a permanent layout so I cannot have
final judgement about that since we have seen problems reported in the forum.

I have no trouble with mfx at all, which may sound surprising according to some posts in the forum....

I also think the rolling stock is getting better and better detailed, so I don't have any complaints there...

The only bigger issue I have is crumbling C-track...

The poll runs 30 days.
Here are the intermediate results after almost one week:
5 votes for quality about the same, 12 votes for quality worse (0, 9, 3), 6 votes for quality better (1, 0, 5).

I started the same (maybe something got lost in translation) poll on Stummi's Forum. Results there:
8 votes for quality about the same, 23 votes for quality worse (6, 10, 7), 11 votes for quality better (3, 3, 5).