I haven't spent a whole lot of time with either one, but have tried a couple of the newer CE's.
Compared to my core line guitars, the body carve isn't as dramatic. However, this does not take anything away from the guitar, in my opinion. I actually like the less dramatic carve quite a bit. It's comfortable and doesn't feel so dramatically different that it would turn me away from buying one. One thing I definitely like about the newer ones over the older is the satin-finished neck. To me, a bare maple neck is just an absolute joy to play.
In terms of tone and pickups....I couldn't really find a tone that I fell in love with in the short couple times I've played them. Again, this is coming from maybe three times playing them in a guitar store for ten minutes and not being able to play one through my personal setup. I've seen some videos of people getting some great tones out of them, though.
The older ones definitely pack a lot of mojo. And getting an older one means that the guitar has been put through it's paces and has "settled into it's skin" a bit.
Either way, it's hard to go wrong when you go with PRS.