[spacemanspif]

Thank you OP for posting. It's encouraging to see a car that is fun to drive and fuel efficient.

Originally Posted by UltArc

Aren't these 6 speeds now? It's not like it would be pegging 5th anywhere, why not keep a tall 6th?

I've been wondering the same thing and while discussing with friends we seem to have come to a conclusion of sorts that works in our minds but could be completely wrong to the auto makers. What we think is that the OEM kind of picks what 1st gear should be for the expected performance of the vehicle, after that, the following gear ratios are then, basically, chosen for them given a certain RPM drop/shift that the OEM deems "acceptable" for the common driver to be able to handle. Considering that most people who drive 5spd transmissions these days are just a little less clueless than their ATX counterparts, the OEM needs to plan transmission gears that even a monkey could handle. Having a highway only gear could confuse people since they are taught to keep shifting until you run out of gears and if you design a big drop in RPM between 5th and 6th, it could lead to people complaining out poor performance in 6th (lugs when 6th is engaged, need to downshift to pass etc). So they leave the recipe alone, gear it short so people think the car is fast, keep 1,000RPM drop/shift so they can't stall it or lug it, and just let the engine whine at whatever RPM 70mph in 6th results in.