The only times (3 to be exact) I had to downshift into 3rd were when I got jammed up by traffic going up a hill and had to slow way down. Then I just stepped onto the kickdown solenoid and away we went. Nothing better than motoring past all the new japanese cars buzzing thier way up the mountain...
In short, it's very driveable, and yes, I prefer to let the turbo carry the car up hills, not 4k rpm..