It's unusual that they went with the 4e Tiefling given how much hate it got. Must have been the loud minority not the majority.
Yup. WotC wouldn't be bringing back the 4E tiefling against overwhelming hate for it. Besides, it's still unclear if we've seen the entire tiefling entry for the PHB. And even if we have (or further pages don't give us the old tiefling back), it doesn't mean we won't see the concept further down the road. And it's sooooo easy to fix if you prefer your tieflings cloven footed . . . . sigh.
The original tiefling (2E) was designed for a specific setting, Planescape, and was truly a beautiful thing, hence it's exploded popularity as a racial option. But in it's true glory, the 2E tiefling is a bit complex for a core race. The 4E tiefling is easier to grasp as a concept. To truly please the Planescape grognards, we'd need several pages of tables to help determine your chaotic character appearance.
It's also a contest between subtle and bold in appearance, as alluded by a previous poster. The 2E tiefling, with all of it's randomness in appearance, was subtle. Put on a hat and some pants and folks might not notice your diabolic heritage right off. The 4E tiefling is bold in appearance, there's no way your going to disguise your heritage except in a very, very dark room. Which makes the race a more clear concept to grasp, and makes art direction easier as well.
To "fix" this issue, I think my first tiefling character will be the old-school style with no tail, cloven hooves, and slightly pointed ears. And I'm going to do bad things, and blame it on the more obvious-looking tieflings in the party! "Look at the size of those horns and that tail! She's got devil-red skin and pointy teeth! She's eeeeevil, and obviously the one to blame!"
