Cold starting is eased quite a bit by allowing the fuel pump to cycle two or three times before hitting the starter button.
Fresh spark plugs help too.
It's a bit of a big lump to turn over and if you're on the original battery you could be a bit short of cold cranking amps, lots of people have gone to better batteries to allow a bit more urgency on the part of the starter motor.
The exhausts do tend to sound different...don't have any good theories for it though!
and welcome to the forum.
