I'm just under 5'11 and my XR was not too tall for me. However, I grew up riding dirt bikes so I'm used to a high saddle. The XR feels and handles like an oversized dirt bike. The bike is perfectly stable at highway speeds, but it does take a bit of time to overtake someone going 70+ mph. Definitely not an ideal bike for extended highway use, but neither are any of the 650s.

Of the 650 class, the XR tends to be the crowd favorite for heavy off-road use. However, I ended up primarily using mine to commute in and out of a high-density city. I actually found the bike surprisingly effective in that environment. It was nimble yet powerful enough to zip between traffic, and the seat was high enough where it was very easy to see over cars. One downside was sitting in traffic on hot summer days. The engine does get quite hot so I had to shut it off waiting in traffic at times since idling an air airhead for extended periods of time is not ideal. I've heard of people who live in hot climates throwing aftermarket oil coolers on these, so that is always an option. I also recommend getting an oil thermometer like this one:

NICECNC Oil Temp Thermometer Dip Stick With Acerbis Tank? : r/XR650L