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I'm so glad the OP brought this up!
I have an 00S with 118K miles. I've driven the car to Orlando a couple of times over the last 6 month and noticed the same thing about cruising RPM.
Thanks to the forums, we've all heard about the concerns of driving with engine RPM around 3K,yet it seems hard to avoid on the highways.
On interstates, I too drive at an indicated 80 mph (knowing that my real speed is slightly lower). 6th gear cruising puts me just over 3K. Cruising 80 mph in 5th is not bad but not as quiet or efficient as 6th.
Ironically, if I take secondary 4 lane roads that have speed limits of 65 mph, 6th gear seems like I'm lugging the engine a bit, while 6th gear puts me right back up around 3K rpm.
Can't win!
For the record, most highway driving is fairly flat, with a few gentle hills.
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