Noisy at high speed

[CMJToyota]

On my journey back from Devon yesterday to my home in Kent I thought that my car was very noisy above 60mph in 5th gear. Is it any quieter in 6th? Unfortunately due to the terrain and weather I had little chance to go any faster and experiment. It also seems to be lacking in power when trying to go up  shallow hills in fifth.

[Gray86]

My wife’s 1.33 is much quieter in 6th, but in all honesty they aren’t at their best on the motorway. You can fit yourself soundproofing in certain areas and fit touring tyres but it will always be noisier than something like a Corolla, Camry, RAV4. 

[Bernard Foy]

1 hour ago, CMJToyota said:

On my journey back from Devon yesterday to my home in Kent I thought that my car was very noisy above 60mph in 5th gear. Is it any quieter in 6th? Unfortunately due to the terrain and weather I had little chance to go any faster and experiment. It also seems to be lacking in power when trying to go up  shallow hills in fifth.

If you’re doing 60MPH you should be using 6th gear. Why not just use it at that speed??

[Cyker]

I know my old Mk2 1.33 could do 60mph in 6th but you'd need to downshift for hills as the engine really didn't have much grunt at that rpm.

That said, I found the road noise was much higher than the engine noise at such speeds so not sure how much difference it'd make...

Quieter tyres made a big difference on that car...!

[Bernard Foy]

2 minutes ago, Cyker said:

I know my old Mk2 1.33 could do 60mph in 6th but you'd need to downshift for hills as the engine really didn't have much grunt at that rpm.

That said, I found the road noise was much higher than the engine noise at such speeds so not sure how much difference it'd make...!

True, but at least it will reduce the the engine revs = less noise.

[TonyHSD]

I think the noise comes mostly from the wind and road, tyres etc.  The engine even in 5th gear should be quiet unless pushed harder and rpm rise well above 3500. 
Electric cars are very similar and they have no engine to produce noise.
They are quite up to around 50mph then after they start to pick the same wind and tyre noises like ice cars and there is no difference between petrol, hybrid or electric car at speeds higher than 50mph (80km/h).
When I compare the Auris hybrid to ioniq electric we have, these are the major differences, up to 50mph but then after they are the same. 
Toyotas aren’t the quietest cars in general and the smaller models are noisier at speeds but that applies to all makes. 

[Mojo1010]

As others mentioned that speed is 6th gear, can go into 6th even just below 50mph. Using more fuel in 5th also.