It looks like the developers have been listening and working hard to fix some aspects of World of Tanks as a major new patch has just landed. They have also included 2 new maps with this patch. I hope the tank visibility tweaks are a big improvement. Invisible heavies charging at you has been a real piss-off. A snippet of the changes are available below; for the full list check out this post in the official forums:

•Added new vehicles: premium heavy Lowe and KV-5, KV-13 and Pz38NA, tier 8 SPGs: Object 261, GW-E serie, T-92.
•Readjusted visibility parameters of all vehicles while standing still and on the move.
•Introduced detailed damage mechanics for tracks. Reworked durability of tracks and repair time for all vehicles.
•Increased match-making value for tier 9 medium tanks.
•Reworked vehicle movement system – sticking at vertical surfaces and map borders is nearly eliminated. Reduced chance of getting stuck in terrain objects.
•Changed damage mechanics for tracks. You can damage tracks if you hit the leading or the rearmost wheel of the tank. It will be much more difficult to detrack it by hitting middle part of the tank.
•Added the possibility of dismounting non-demountable equipment (Rammer, Coated Optics and other) for 10 gold.
•Added the automated ban system for teamkillers.
•Added new maps: Mountain Pass and Steppes.
•Corrected a lot of mistakes connected with objects’ disposition, passing ability, getting stuck on most of the maps.
•Fixed a lot of rendering errors, increased the efficiency of advanced dynamic shadows

You can download the full World of Tanks client now locally from AusGamers (~2GB), or if you're an existing Tanker we have the patch available as well (~900MB). promoted/edited forum item