I doubt anyone 'flew up' a hill, metaphorically or otherwise. Nevertheless, it should provide a noticeable level of assist up a hill in the highest mode.
Remember, its torque sensing - the harder you pedal, the more assist it provides up to its 250W capacity. It won't do it all for you, you still need to provide a good dollop of effort yourself.
The obvious thing to do would be to try your chum's bike, see how that compares. If its radically different, youve got a fault somewhere. If it feels similar, you need to work on your fitness and recalibrate your expectations.