I noticed the road noise too when I worked on my neighbor's kids Gen 3. It's the booming that goes through the body on bumps. Much much worse than my 2.5 on the same roads in the neighborhood that aren't even that bad. I wondered if maybe chassis bushings were worn out or hard..

His Gen 3 is the 2003 3.5, and mine definitely had a-lot more pull on the highway in my opinion. I thought I can cruise 75 - 80 with much more ease without a kick-down to pass but thats because of the 5th gear in his I think.

1999 Mitsu Montero - Crappy Weather
1992 Isuzu Pickup - Zombie Apocalypse
2008 Saturn Sky Redline - Nice Weather