My 4.4 TDV8's hesitation was less than my D4's although still sluggish to get going, always being last to cross an intersection. However since having the EGR delete with a very minor performance remap the TDV8 has no hesitation and is now by no means sluggish if the pedal is prodded a little. Its gearbox is untouched. I had done an EGR blank test some time ago which felt similarly responsive to how it does now but off-throttle operation was undriveable.