A valve assembly comprising: a housing including at least one port; and a rotary valve disposed within the housing, the rotary valve comprising: an outer sleeve with at least one port aligned with the at least one port of the housing; a spool rotationally disposed within the sleeve, the spool including a shaft and at least one valve element disposed along the shaft, the at least one valve element including at least one port formed thereon; a first and a second anti-friction element supporting opposing ends of the shaft of the spool; and a rotary electric actuating device coupled to an end of the shaft, the rotary electric actuating device operable to rotate the spool to selectively align the at least one port of the spool with the at least one port of the sleeve, characterized in that the sleeve incorporates a radially outwardly directed contoured spot face lead-in area adjacent the at least one port of the sleeve, and wherein the at least one valve element includes a radially inwardly directed contoured spot face lead-in area adjacent the at least one port thereof, wherein the radially-outwardly directed contoured spot face lead-in area and the radially-inwardly-directed contoured spot face lead-in area face away from one another when the at least one port of the spool and the at least one port of the sleeve are aligned. a housing including at least one port; and a rotary valve disposed within the housing, the rotary valve comprising: an outer sleeve with at least one port aligned with the at least one port of the housing; a spool rotationally disposed within the sleeve, the spool including a shaft and at least one valve element disposed along the shaft, the at least one valve element including at least one port formed thereon; a first and a second anti-friction element supporting opposing ends of the shaft of the spool; and a rotary electric actuating device coupled to an end of the shaft, the rotary electric actuating device operable to rotate the spool to selectively align the at least one port of the spool with the at least one port of the sleeve, characterized in that the sleeve incorporates a radially outwardly directed contoured spot face lead-in area adjacent the at least one port of the sleeve, and wherein the at least one valve element includes a radially inwardly directed contoured spot face lead-in area adjacent the at least one port thereof, wherein the radially-outwardly directed contoured spot face lead-in area and the radially-inwardly-directed contoured spot face lead-in area face away from one another when the at least one port of the spool and the at least one port of the sleeve are aligned. an outer sleeve with at least one port aligned with the at least one port of the housing; a spool rotationally disposed within the sleeve, the spool including a shaft and at least one valve element disposed along the shaft, the at least one valve element including at least one port formed thereon; a first and a second anti-friction element supporting opposing ends of the shaft of the spool; and a rotary electric actuating device coupled to an end of the shaft, the rotary electric actuating device operable to rotate the spool to selectively align the at least one port of the spool with the at least one port of the sleeve, characterized in that the sleeve incorporates a radially outwardly directed contoured spot face lead-in area adjacent the at least one port of the sleeve, and wherein the at least one valve element includes a radially inwardly directed contoured spot face lead-in area adjacent the at least one port thereof, wherein the radially-outwardly directed contoured spot face lead-in area and the radially-inwardly-directed contoured spot face lead-in area face away from one another when the at least one port of the spool and the at least one port of the sleeve are aligned.