I bought a 2008 Evo MR in October of 2008. Exactly 3 years later I bought an ‘11 for a variety of reasons. I wanted to compare the cars with out doing any official research. I tried to remain opinion free and just state the facts.
To be clear, both cars (the 08 and the 11) are Phantom black, Evo MRs, with the premium package. That includes the FAST Key, blue tooth, steering wheel controls, faux leather interior; chrome exterior trim, and “improved sound deadening” The only feature difference is the 11 came with the Rockford system in the premium pack. In 08 you could get the premium package with out the Rockford system (which I didn’t get). So I will not focus on the radio as it is apple and oranges.
As far as the over all ride, power and feel of the car, the only difference I notice is the transmission in the 11 is more smoothed out than the 08.
On the inside, the gauge panel has the same features, but the 11 has some color (red,white, and blue)vs. the all red the 08 had. All the windows except the windshield have a factory tint on the 11 which is a nice added feature. The major difference is the center console. On the 08 the cup holders where wider and open vs. the 11 which has a flip lid and are more narrow. The storage area under the comfort controls on the 08 are open and wide enough to put things in(sun glasses, wallet, etc). On the 11 there are two little storage areas that both have covers and render very little storage . The 11 looks nicer when you close all the lids, but offer less usable storage room.
The outside of the car has a few noticeable differences. The paint on the 08 was a darker black and had more of a reddish tint. The 11 is a greyer-black. You would have to look at them together to completely see it. The front grill cross bar on the 08 was grey. It looked out of place and they changed that to black on the 11. The rocker panels on the 11 are bigger than the 08 and I think that is to cut down on the damage to the rear door panels. I had a lot of pebble marks on my rear doors of the 08. (Then I got smart and used mudflaps). The antenna on the 11 is nicer looking that the R/C car look on the 08. The giant spoiler on the 08 is replaced by a small lip on the 11. The Keyless entry on the 08 was different to lock and unlock. You can slide your hand down the door handle and the door would unlock and push the button to lock. The unlock wouldn’t work sometimes and I am not sure if there was radio wave interference or what? On the 11 you have to hit the button on the door handle to lock and unlock.
Feel free to ask question or chime in. Hope this helps someone.

 

I too went from an '08 to an '11 but MR to GSR. There are other differences I noticed as well. Exhaust, steering wheel wrap is textured on the '11. I went from GG to PB, and definitely notice the greyish tint in the PB.

I'm glad to hear they have made the '11 MR SST more smooth. The '08 could be a bit klunky at times.

 

I wasnt sure about the steering wheel, the 11 does feel softer though. what did you notice about the exhaust?

 

old news but the color lcd screen has to be nice - car should also be a bit quicker from the stock factory tune correct?

 

Yah the 08 steering wheel is completely smooth. The '11 has texture to it.

The exhaust was changed, they opened it up a bit and made it more throaty. Definitely sounds more like a sports car now