RPM when speed at 80

[bmwdriver]

Hi! I am new to this forum. It's great!
A dummy question. I just bought my 01' 325i couple days ago... found out that when the speed was around 80 mph, the RPM was 3500 (of course, use the 5th gear). Is this normal? My previous car was '99 Passat turbo. It hits 80 mph with only 3000 RPM, so does my Honda Accord (4-cylinder). Since bimmer has 6 cylinders, I thought the RPM should be lower, let's say, 2500 when the speed hits 80 mph. Please help.

[97alpineM3]

I'd say that is about right.... If you look at the Honda and the other car... the red line is probably lower.... BMW make mid to high reving engines.... that is natural... I have a 97 M that produces 3k at 70mph. So 3.5k at 80 should be about right.

[Ohrid]

Its all got to do with the gearing, not the size of the engine. The passat and accord ahve their gear ratios more spaced out and/or their final drive ratio is taller to give a more relaxed cruise, whereas the BMW is more tighter, to give a more instance response. The 330Ci with 6-speed manual box, its 6th gear is pretty tall, it cruises 80mp/h at 2500rpm.