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Are Sparks more likely to be tailgated by aggressive drivers?


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Greetings; first post. I'd especially welcome replies from fellow Americans, who drive in a country where short, narrow cars get little love unless they're sporty.

In August, I plan to pass my 2004 Ford Focus SE sedanicon1.png (white, automatic, 2.3L Mazda-designed engine) to my daughter. I'm looking to replace it with one of three used models:

  • 2007 Ford Focus ZX5 SES
  • 2011 or 2012 Mazda Touring
  • 2013 Chevrolet Spark 1LT or 2LT

If you can't see what these three choices have in common with each other, it's this: Each is short, narrow (very important), well-equipped 5-door hatchback that costs under $13,000. I find driving and parking less stressful in a short, narrow caricon1.pngwith short doors.

For about 10 miles (16 km) in any direction from my houseicon1.png, the road has only one lane in each direction, usually divided by a no-passing solid line. Since I drive at the speed limit or only slightly above it, I often get tailgated. Then, as soon as I reach the dashed (passing) divider, the tailgater zooms past me.

On multilane roads, as I approach a red light, the car behind me will often jockey to the next lane, figuring I'll be slow off the mark. With my 2.3L engineicon1.png, I love to prove them wrong.

I suspect that if I were driving a "serious" or sporty-looking car, drivers would back off. To impatient drivers, a wimpy-looking sedan with 195mm-wide tiresicon1.png just "seems" slower than a BMW, even when both are going the same speed.

If I go with the Spark, can I expect more of this behavior?

Would the answer depend on the color? My first choice is green, followed (in no order) by black, blue, and white.

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I've been driving for a good many years, big cars, and recently small cars, as a matter of fact the car I traded in for the Spark was a '06 Mazda 3 GT, with a 2.3L engine, as you know, pretty spunky little car. The problem is, in the past 20 yrs. or so, the roads have turned into an insane free for all. I have encountered all sorts of idiots, whether I was driving a Towncar, Deville, or my girlfriends, VW bug. I don't think the problem is what you're driving, but the mentality of the driver you are encountering. I live in new Jersey, just 10 miles from the George Washington bridge, so you can imagine how densely populated we are. This state also gives the drivers test in 34 languages, and the problems just keep compounding. All you can do is get in the car, and use your head, drive carefully, and don't be intimidated into doing something you are uncomfortable with, to accomodate some lunatic. There are days when I take on the mindset of a Kamikaze pilot. :)

The cars you are considering are all good cars, the Mazda is a great car, but the value isn't there, you could get a Spark 2LT, fully loaded, for what you would pay for a base Mazda 2, the bluetooth option alone is around $200. If it's safety you're looking for, the Spark has 10 airbags! If the gas situation wasn't going crazy, I would still be tooling in a land yacht, but the times are changing, and we have to keep on adjusting. Good Luck, in whatever you decide.

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In a perverse sense, WalkK, I'm encouraged by your perspective: That I'm just as likely to be bullied in a large, stately car. If others agree, I'll be encouraged to favor the Spark. If they don't, I'll continue to suspect that a pink Spark will be tailgated more often than a black Bimmer.

The Spark's price advantage seems to apply to new cars only. The Mazda2 has been depreciating quickly, perhaps because young buyers see that it lacks BlueTooth and move on. On cars.com, within 1000 miles of Maryland, there are at least eight loaded Mazda2s below $13,000 but no Spark 1LTs or 2LTs. Of course, these are 2011 and 2012 Mazdas vs. 2013 Sparks.

On the other hand, the Spark may yield a lower cost of ownership. It has all the electronics I could want (except perhaps a backup camera). And I'd never need to chane the transmission fluid and power-steering fluid.

Edited by MarylandUSA
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Around here the answer is yes, you are more likely to have some reject in a giant pickup tailgate you just because it is a small car, even going above the speed limit. They pass in a fit of fury and two miles down the road now you are blocked by them because the small little car is no longer in their sites and they slow down to reasonable levels. This of course makes you pass them which sometimes starts the cycle all over again. This is mostly a problem when the kids are out of school in the summer. The red color seems to put a little of this off, and being able to switch to an aggressive driving mode seems to put most of them at bay. Using a fuel saving mode tends to make them really be jerks.

All that said, I find that passing from 50mph in 5th gear works pretty well, you can also go down to 3rd if you really want to get up and go.

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I live in the land of trucks and SUVs (Dallas, TX)

I came from a G35 sedan. There is a difference in how people drive around the Spark.

I believe a lot of people have a 'nautical' sense of right of way on the road. The bigger vehicle gets priority over the smaller one.

I don't care...like Greg said, I'll see them at the next red light :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

I had a smart fortwo.....which in my opinion was horrible for tailgaters even in regular traffic it's like how close can I get to the tiny car :( Even in the Spark it's bad around here, I don't understand why people are so aggressive towards tiny cars? >.< oh well I'm use to it and love my Spark

Edited by Riverspark
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Could part of the perception of tailgating and too close be partly because there isn't a "trunk" like a normal car? I mean, if people normally follow... pick a number... ten feet behind, that ten foot gap will be a lot closer in a Spark than it will in, say, a Lincoln.

I'm now driving the wife's ex-Neon, and the length of the Spark is roughly from the front bumper of the Neon to the trunk, so as short as the Neon is, the Spark is even shorter.

Maybe people don't realize how close they really are.

Edited by Mudflap
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I don't think the type of car you drive has any difference if you are tailgated or not, but I have noticed I get more looks when it is when I'm driving a small car. I drive the speed limit. On the highway I'm in the right lane preferably behind a slower vehicle....Other drivers may have something to say, I make sure they can read my lips. One guy in a Cavilier didn't like my driving (in the Spark), gave me a gesture, he definetely read my lips, he got in another lane and drove side by side for a bit before his turn, would not look over, not even slightly. It would happen in the F150 too, but people would go around sooner...............I did have a woman bump into my Mini Cooper S at a light, because she was wondering what kind of car it was.........She wanted a closer look.

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Yeah, I can see the bugs on the grill sometimes. People do follow very close and I refuse to speed up and may even slow down just a tad to emphasize that point. I won't drop much below the speed limit though. It usually works and they will give me a more reasonable following distance.

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Yeah I've noticed that I get tailgated a bit more when driving my Spark, though I'm not sure if it's because they want a closer look at my cute little backside (the Spark's that is) or they're trying to coax me into going faster (which usually just makes me tap the brake pedal really quick)... :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Once upon a time, the emergency flashers were tied into the brake lights. You could turn the flashers on and it looked like you were hitting the brake and THAT got their attention. Now the rear flashers are amber and hardly has the same affect.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Honestly, if I felt this way, I would ether ride the bus or never leave the house. There's bad drivers everywhere, and when they cause accidents, they often get sued or lose their license. I don't feel sorry for the people who feel they have to buy a giant suv that gets 15mpgs to "feel safe". But I also don't feel sorry for the person driving 5mph under the limit in the left lane getting tailgated, that is what the right lane is for. I just ignore others negative behavior, I also tint my windows dark to keep the awful sun out (I'm photosensitive) , it also keeps the glare out at night.

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Honestly, if I felt this way, I would ether ride the bus or never leave the house. There's bad drivers everywhere, and when they cause accidents, they often get sued or lose their license. I don't feel sorry for the people who feel they have to buy a giant suv that gets 15mpgs to "feel safe". But I also don't feel sorry for the person driving 5mph under the limit in the left lane getting tailgated, that is what the right lane is for. I just ignore others negative behavior, I also tint my windows dark to keep the awful sun out (I'm photosensitive) , it also keeps the glare out at night.

I agree with you.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I haven't had too many issues. I have a had near collisions but thats because people don't pay attention at stop signs. I only had one real encounter and it was a super jacked up lime green Ford truck that was on my bumper. Finally he passed me after like 6 miles and then blinded me with his black smoke :/

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After a few weeks, I have not noticed any difference in how people treat this car to my old one. You do need to take account there's not really any rear bumper sticking out, so others are closer to the hatch, that was how the car was designed. I pull up close to people at lights, unless its sloped, so more cars can fit into the turn lanes, so thats probably why people seem so close. Many Texans are horrible drivers anyway, so nothing new, and I'm proud to say I'm just another transplant here,just like half the population of the city. Small cars such as Mini Cooper, Fiat, and Prius are very popular here.

Edited by austex04
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I think it's about perspective. Going from a sedan to a hatch, even if people are the same distance to you as they were in the sedan, they are going to feel closer. Or ride height?

I have a friend that went from a 'cute ute' to a Honda Accord - he says he gets bulled around a lot more on the road in the car than the SUV. I think pickup / large SUV drivers tend to bully around a bit. I notice that I get tailgated and menaced a lot more in the Focus than the Cherokee. "It's small - if I tailgate the owner will go faster"

My other vehicle is a lifted Jeep Cherokee with big(er) mud tires. I'm definitely in the minority, but I always leave a GOOD distance on the highway with it ... or any where. Cherokee brakes sucked from the factory with stock tires - add 13 years and big, heavy mud tires to the mix and they REALLY don't like to stop.

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When I get pissed enough, I slow down to the speed limit, a little more pissed and slow down a little more until they get the hint and drop back or pass illegally. Not much of a problem in legal passing areas or two lane highway.

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