Do you notice or feel like people are tailgating or stopping extremely close behind when you drive your countryman ?? I always feel this way since I've got the car.

People LOVE to drive up the *** of my R53...it doesnt help that it looks smaller from their giant SUVs thanks to the low ride height

Did not notice
I usually trying to stay away from left lane, except when passing

RantOn...Yes, but only when I'm driving from zero mph to near the posted speed limit. It's like NASCAR drafting "out there", I know gas is dear but still...RantOff

Any car without a trunk gives that impression.

If it really bothers you, here is an appropriate modification:
Hot Licks exhaust

Don't know if you can do it on the Countryman, but for my R56 I installed the third brake pulsar from GoMiniGo. Blinks when you touch the brakes and really gets their attention! I've noticed less tailgating since installing it, especially if I tap my brakes in their faces.

At a red light, people are always on my *** because they try taking a photo of me "MERICA" license plate.

But I do get nervous looking in a rear view mirror seeing a big grille. How close before they stop.

Cool plate! How much does that cost you each year may I ask?

Same thing happens to me. My plate says "HACKER" and I have people snapping photos all the time. I was behind a guy at a light the other day with a "NYNEX" plate and as I was snapping a pic I noticed him hanging over the back seat taking a pic of mine. (All the geeks just laughed, everyone else might not get it)

In Indiana, it was only $25 extra because I have a standard Indiana plate. I understand Indiana is one of the cheaper states for something like this.

Love it, especially the blue flame. The yellow flame's too sooty for my tastes!

for the last 17 years i have driven a gmc sonoma extended cab pickup with a 6 foot bed

that puts the rear bumper over 8 feet behind my seatback and 6.5 feet from the rear cab window

in my 2012 cms all4 i do feel like i am being tailgated

but i think it is mostly because the rear window is just inches in front of the rear bumper

the rear view out of the mini looks like the car in back of me is in the bed of my p/u truck

also, i am not used to seeing the grill and headlights of the car following me, the tailgate blocks them

scott

People tailgate frequently, I find. I downshift and engine brake to well below the speed limit. Let them get right up on my ***. Then I punch it and create a large gap. Sometimes that's enough to wake people up... if they start crawling up my bumper again, I continue driving slowly until they have an aneurysm or illegally pass me.

A few weeks ago I was giving my girlfriends friend a ride home in my loaner Benz. I was driving through a school zone in an unfamiliar neighborhood, doing 35km/h (posted 30.) and some jerk in a Golf was riding my *** like he was rushing to the hospital. He flipped out and illegally passed me in front of an elementary school, cut me off, and floored it. I was right behind him 30 seconds later at the next light.

Hell is other drivers.

It will feel like people are closer if you used to drive a larger SUV or a sedan that had trunk length between the window and the bumper.

The other reason may be that you're not motoring fast enough and blocking traffic. I know that no MINI owner would be so inconsiderate to fellow motorists, therefore it has to be the former and not the latter.

Looks like Danny and I were typing at the same time, and I was wrong, some MINI owners like to play annoying games with other motorists and propogate the road rage problem... If somebody is riding your a$$ the best thing to do is just keep doing what you're doing or move over and let them pass. Slowing down to "well blelow the speed limit" is only going to make the problem worse than it was and puts you in the passive aggressive category, then you're both wrong.

I'm going with the short car and no trunk. They're not picking on a MINI, they are the same distance from your bumper as they would be if you were driving a Hummer, it just feels like they're closer.

Hah. I had a hard time with this when we first picked up our mini for my wife. When I was 16 I got rear ended when I was stopped to make a left turn. The other driver hit me going 55 mph. This has always made me extremely observant (or paranoid) about what is going on behind me. Top that off with the fact that my car is a extra cab full sized pickup and my wifes former car was a Buick Enclave. It took quite a while of thinking why is everyone one my a$$ before I realized they were the same distance to the mini as they were to my other vehicles. Problem is this still puts them about 8 feet closer to my body. OP, you'll get used to it.

You're not wrong, but I'm never going below the speed limit unless there's a car in front of me. I'm generally doing 10-20km/h over, unless it's a playground/school zone, where I do the limit.

If someone is tailgating me and I'm doing over the limit with no one in front, my slowing down, while passive-aggressive, will allow them to pass more easily, and they're free to do that. If there's someone in front of me that I can't go faster than, because physics, slowing down creates a larger space between me and the vehicle in front, which I'm going to need if Tommy Tailgater rams into the back of my vehicle.

I should say that I politely flash my brake lights a few times before I start letting off the throttle, and that's often enough to make someone realize they're following too closely.

Took company drivers test for Penske not long ago.

Test solution for a tailgater was to: " create more space between you and the vehicle infront of you..." I am guessing this is to provide you more reaction time which in turn, allows for the dumb *** tailgater behind you more time as well....

+1
Easy install, and gets folks attention!!!

Yea, so two cars can slip in that space!

For the record, I have the Pulsar third brake light. It does help, and doesn't melt the bumper.

I put it right on the speed limit and give them a good shot of window wash. hehe
They back off most of the time.

I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT. I'm stealing this.

Nothing better than sitting in traffic and seeing MACK in your rear view mirror.

Yea, so you get to your destination 5 seconds later.....Better later than not at all