It will never go into first from a dead stop unless you put the shift lever in 2. You pull the lever down to 2 at a full stop and feel the transmission shift down to first. You'll get wall-climbing torque for a few feet then an abrupt shift to second.

It can go into first automatically if it senses a heavy load as you get moving, even if you don't hit the kickdown switch.

Sixto
93 300SD