99 vw jetta rpm's

I recently purchased a 99 vw new jetta gls, automatic transmission, 4 cylinder 2.0. with 60,000 miles on it.Since this is my first vw I'm not sure what's normal and what's not. My rpm's seem to be running high 3000rpms at 65 mph, 2800 rpms at 60 mph. I've never driven a car that has that high of a reading, of course I'm use driving larger suv's so I don't know what is normal for a small car.. This is my main concern at the moment other than sometimes when I'm just starting out the transmission seems to shift a little hard when going from 1st to 2nd gear. Any help from experienced vw owners would be helpful.

It's the same with me bro. On the highway i am reving preety high when i am going 60-70Mph. I thought that it was kinda wierd at first but it seems to be normal with all VW's. About the tranny thing, i think that you need to check your links that connect you shifter to your gear box, that might be a problem. Because it runs by wires, they might need a little adjusting.

Thanks, I checked with a garage and with the vw dealer and they both said it was normal.

We have a 99, as well. It shifts very hard. I thought it was odd but there has never been a problem and I've owned the car from 30K miles till now at 91K. I recently drove a 2003 automatic and the shifting was as smooth as butter. Weird.

Bad design on automatic tranny for all jettas before 00. they tend to break.