I don't disagree with Mablak thought I'd like to add prespective by typing what I think makes Intermediate easier than Elite (which doesn't mean Intermediate is an easier scheme, on the whole scheme of things)
The influence of creativty in intermediate is much more relevant than in Elite, having more resources gives more chances for great turns that many people just can't see/perform - in theory there are more options for a particular kill and thus the chances of coming up with one are bigger. In elite sometimes you hit a barrier, you're losing, and there's virtually no way for you to make a reasoanble come back, regardless of your skill level, this is a double edged sword in practice, since even though more tools makes your life easier (providing you can constantly come up with great turns) it also makes defending yourself more of a chore.
The amount of movement weapons trivializes the clock in many turns regardless of the fact that many perfect turns require the whole turn time and even more which in turn allows for mistakes in planning your movement: failing a jump 4 or 5 times might not have consequences, this is more unlikely in Elite.
Longer turns also allow for more thinking time though I still acknowledge there's more to think about.