Probably pedal feel. I’m willing to bet the first generation didn’t have so much of a throttle delay as the Gen 2s have for fuel economy.
Try sport mode + 4A + traction control off tell me if the throttle still too soft lol- I agree it requires a lil extra tip in when in normal mode
gen 1s are heavier, have less TQ, & an inferior transmission/gear ratios so no way is it gonna feel or certainly actually be faster or “torquier” than a. Gen 2- even if they were rated the same engine TQ the Gen 2 would still “feel” torquier due to the gearing, lighter weight, & how low the peak TQ is made
a tuned gen 2 is pretty damn perfect IMHO in terms of feeling plenty of fast on or off road & not bing overkill- it’s like the perfect DD if you have a lot of family/stuff to haul & actually like to
Drive & want something w/ some real power