If it's actually in sport mode ("sport" will light up on your dash)
then it shouldn't really go to 7th or 8th unless youre going 80+ consistently. Not everyone is going to have the same experience as the car will "learn" your driving patterns and adjust.
It should not engage to 7th or 8th if...
important to note for people who are about to purchase their cars/extended warranties, dealerships will tell you they honor everything until you bring your car in for service. I would not do anything to the car unless you have a pre-existing record of good relation with the service department
Call them, more specifically the guy that sold you the car. Sometimes these things require some elbow grease because you're right they don't particularly care anymore since it's not their car. You might need to call a couple times even. I asked for the trunk mat and had to call my dealer 3 times...
Definitely possible.
I would wager it's also possible that the material is just so cheap that any exposure to intense elements would wear them out...I personally did a wax a month into ownership and the strips already looked beaten. This is with my car in a garage pretty much everywhere I go...
Most likely OEM as this is not a high volume car. Usually they'll produce their own glass, or maybe have a close partnership with a manufacturer to produce glass for them, for Rav4s, camrys, corollas, accords, etc. etc.
Funny enough, the outside glass is pretty easy to clean for me. I use a damp and dry towel with meguiar's glass cleaner.
I only have trouble with the inside portion of the windshield...always streaks on the inside no matter which product I use.
I can definitely agree with the blind spot issue; annoying when turning into a service road.
I am not that tall (5'10"), so the low ceiling isn't terribly annoying (only con is you'd have to stop a bit short at traffic lights or you wouldnt be able to see the light change)
Trunk space is...
NYC, regular city commute in light traffic. Getting about 10-12 MPG, maybe I have a lemon o_O (I am driving pretty aggressive from stop lights though so idk)