ZD30 + RE4 auto ... possible to hold 4th when cruising?

I've never owned an auto before but surely it does not really have to drop back to 3rd & 3500rpm at every little hint of an incline, I have tried using the Hold button next to the gears selector but it doesn't seem to do anything and leaving it in 3rd seemed a bit silly. This car is more powerful than my previous Mazda B2500 which had no problem holding top gear on the same road. I feel that the RE4's top gear is too high. This feeling causes me to ponder the effectiveness of a transfer case reduction to bring the revs up a bit or if it's possible to lock/hold 4th gear some other way I'd love to hear your thoughts. Tyres are stock as far as I know 275/65/17R, pressures are as per the placard. Car empty besides me and my dog and half a tank of fuel.

Are you sure it's dropping back to 3rd and not just releasing the lock on the torque convertor in O/D?

Your owners manual should explain the correct use of the Hold & Power positions.

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Originally Posted by jff45

Are you sure it's dropping back to 3rd and not just releasing the lock on the torque convertor in O/D?

Your owners manual should explain the correct use of the Hold & Power positions.

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I'm pretty sure that when the 4th releases it goes to 2700rpm (as oppose to 2300rpm), 3rd is 3500rpm when doing 105ish-KPH. I shall have to read up on the function of the Hold button, I assumed it would Hold gears longer

I've been doing a bit of reading and I think that changing my diff ratios may be the answer possibly 4.1 or 4.3, alternatively I have found a couple of aftermarket transmission controllers available for the RE4 as well.

The hold button is to hold second gear, and not start of in first, so in snow or other very slippery conditions, it is supposed to reduce wheel spin.
A torque converter lock up kit, will stop the torque converter from unlocking.

Ah cheers for the info. I'll look into it!

I've learned that driving without the cruise control in hilly 110kph roads allows me to stay in 4th. The cruise tries too hard to stay at 110kph. My right foot naturally doesn't. Problem solved.