First, congratulation! Pretty exciting picking up the new boat. My understanding is the new v6 VMAX SHO’s were coming out in May, so they are brand new. I have also heard a lot of talk about backlogs in motor production/availability, so it sounds nice that they at least had a 200 VMAX. If you hold out for the new one, you are probably looking at a longer wait (and I’d imagine a slightly increased cost…?)
Frankly, the older 200 Vmax Sho is a great motor based on what others always say (I have a Mercury myself, so not first hand experience). Performance wise, I am not sure you will notice any significant difference in speed and handling. They are both 4.2 L v6 motors, with the same gear ratios.
What does stand out to me as a very nice upgrade: 40% better charging! That sounds very nice. With the power demands of everything these days, having a motor recharge batteries 40% faster/better at 70 amps is a very nice upgrade.
Would the new look matter to me? Ideally yes, but not enough to pay more or wait longer assuming performance is pretty much the same. The new motor cowl looks very cool, and since its the ”new” design, that would have been nice since you are buying a 2021 boat. In a few years your motor cowl will look outdated compared to the new one. I recently went through that with my 2017 200HP Mercury Verado Pro. I think the new look came out in 2019 or 2020, so mine looks a little outdated now. That said, it still looks pretty awesome, just not the same.
Not an issue for me…? The one touch trim might be nice, hopefully not just gimmicky. However, on its own this would not be a deal breaker in my mind. Probably a neat feature, but certainly wouldn’t be worth more money or a longer wait in my mind.
