The first difference is how easily and smoothly it shifted gears, it seemed like we were between gears longer than we were in some of them, as the transmission just touched them on the way up. It wasn't until we got on the highway and I commented on how nice it was that he even mentioned that we were grossing 70,000 pounds. With the engine noise bing so quiet and the shifting so smooth, I never felt like we were heavy, until I checked my speed and saw that we weren't quiet up to highway speed yet.
Decelerating for an off ramp was just as smooth as climbing the gears. It wasn't until we got back to the yard that I saw how it would downshift on its own as we coasted to a stop, rather than needing a foot on the accelerator to allow the transmission to shift.
Another nice feature was the hill holder, which allowed me to use only one foot to drive. I no longer needed to put my left foot on the brake to keep the truck from rolling forward or back while I pressed the accelerator down to move away from a stop. I am so used to needing two feet to drive an automatic that it was extremely difficult to not put my left foot on the brake.
The last item that I loved was backing, I didn't need to rev the engine up to get the truck to back up, it was able to take just a little power and back on its own after I took my foot off the accelerator. Gone is the need to rev up to 800 or 1000 rpms just to get the transmission to engage, a real plus when trying to back up a hill into a dock.
So if you get the chance to try out one of these transmissions, I highly recommend it. It certainly changed my mind about automatics, up until now I have really hated them. I have gone a complete 180 on that and now would actually consider getting a truck equipped with this transmission, if I ever became insane enough to become an owner operator that is.
