Because the trans is an "automatic", there's no shifting at all. The 7th gear is strictly for fuel efficiency. In normal mode, the trans picks the most efficient gear to manage the load. That's why it was at 1300RPM at 45 mph. Also, in normal mode, the shifts were so smooth they were almost unnoticeable. The shifting didn't interfere with driving at all. In the sport or sport plus modes, shifts are at higher RPM's, but they never came at unexpected or inopportune times.
Yeah, it will definitely be a while before this car comes into my budget...sticker was 99K. I write a tech column for the regional PCA magazine, so I used that as my "lever"to get a test drive.
Better go write that article...