Road Tests: Long-Term Test

Video highlights of this vehicle

Our new Mazda Tribute received quite a workout this month at the hands of editor-in-chief, Christian Wardlaw. He visited relatives in central Tennessee for the holidays, and opted to drive there from Los Angeles rather than fly. The trip total amounted to nearly 5,000 miles in eight days, plenty of time to evaluate the merits, and demerits, of the new Tribute (and its twin, the Ford Escape).

First, let's cover the bad stuff. Wardlaw reported that the driver's seat feels firm, supportive and comfortable at first, but over time (roughly six hours and 450 miles — whichever comes first), his lower back began to ache badly. By the time he called it quits after 12 hours (Los Angeles to Santa Fe, where his father lives), he was in serious pain, fidgeting constantly to try and find comfort. "Thank God for Advil," he wrote in the logbook.

Not surprisingly, given his pain, the Tribute ES doesn't have adjustable lumbar support. Instead, it has a protruding curvature that cannot be adjusted and is, evidently, incompatible with the design of Wardlaw's spine. He was dreading the drive home from Tennessee, but strangely, after a day during which he covered the 1,150 miles between Beaumont, Texas, and Tucson, Ariz., his back felt fine. Perhaps the Trib's seat wasn't to blame after all. We'll wait until more staffers get serious seat time before making a determination.

One thing is certain with regard to cabin comfort: Mazda offers plenty of seat track travel and a wide range of height adjustment (although the angle of the bottom cushion cannot be adjusted separately, making an optimal driving position unlikely). Wardlaw noted: "This is one of the few vehicles I have ever driven in which I do not utilize the entire range of seat track travel. This means I have plenty of room for my legs, and can leave plenty of room for the legs of my passengers as well."

Wardlaw says that another long-distance travel bugaboo is the design of the front door panels. With a nice, wide upper edge and a user-friendly armrest, you'd think a highway driver would be in heaven. Alas, Mazda mysteriously padded the door panel insert with a vinyl leatherette, and left the panel top and armrest rendered in hard, cold, unforgiving plastic. Major goof. "The top of the dash is pliable, why not the spots where people actually contact the interior?" asked Wardlaw, likely massaging his bruised left elbow.

Next on his list of gripes? Interior noise is excessive on the highway. Engine drone, tire roar, and wind noise all conspire to quash conversation with passengers. Other niggles included a knob, sized and placed for tuning the radio, but without an associated tuning function and a lack of illumination for the cruise controls on the steering wheel (ditto all power window switches save the driver's, and the power lock switch).

Speaking of cruise control, Wardlaw claims the system on the Tribute is hard to use, and not particularly adept at its job. Often he'd set the system for 80 mph, only to find himself blasting along at 83 mph shortly thereafter. Also, there is no deceleration feature, so when this overshot of speed occurred, he had to shut off the system and reset the speed. At night, since the buttons aren't illuminated, it was hard to find the SET feature, located in the middle of the three functions on the right side of the wheel.

OK, what else? Oh yes, the storage bins in the dash aren't lined or rubberized, which means items placed there rattle and scrape as they slide on the hard plastic. The way the rear seat cushions fold is unusual, and it takes some practice to maximize cargo space in a fluid fashion. The leather seat upholstery is low-grade stuff, feeling less luxurious than the vinyl that covers the seat sides and backs. Also, the driver side outside mirror flutters at speeds over 70 mph, making it hard to see detail about the cars behind.

Finally, and perhaps the most significant complaint of all with regard to long-distance travel, the Trib's 16-gallon fuel tank, combined with sub-20 mpg fuel economy averages, means frequent fill-ups, on the order of every 250 miles or so — more often around town. Ugh.

When we took delivery of our Tribute from Galpin Mazda in California's San Fernando Valley, the headlights were beamed at the ground. Santa Monica Mazda took a look-see and claimed to have solved the problem. But on the first day of Wardlaw's trip, during a pre-dawn blitz across the California desert, it was clear that the headlights weren't illuminating as much of the roadway as they should be. The fog lights actually helped increase visibility in terms of distance.

New Mexico's Santa Fe Mazda/Volvo/Suzuki kindly took us in the next morning with a last-minute appointment, tweaked the lighting while we waited (it took about 10 minutes), and then sent us on our way. Our thanks go to Mark Harris, the assistant service manager, and his team for taking care of this problem quickly, and competently, as it turned out. That night, blazing across western Oklahoma, the Trib's lighting was up to the task, keeping Chris informed about the road surface even at 85 mph.

Yep, 85 mph. He says he had the Tribute up to 100 mph at one point, and, aside from the deafening noise inside the cabin, reports that this SUV is quite solid and stable at speed. Handling is responsive, brakes a joy to operate, acceleration impressive. The ride is very stiff — sports car stiff — but this is likely Mazda's effort to not only differentiate the Trib from the Ford Escape, but also substantiate its claim that this SUV is the spawn of a gaggle of Miata roadsters.

Wardlaw thoroughly enjoyed the in-dash, six-disc CD changer, but not the muddy bottom end of the sound system's aural quality. The stereo is capable of lots of volume — more than anyone needs. He never cranked it louder than halfway, despite the din from the engine and tires. Also useful for highway trips: two power points in the dash, one cold and one hot. This setup was perfect for Wardlaw's radar detector and cell phone. The top plug, a cold one, was used for the radar detector, which turned on when the car was turned on, and turned off when the car was turned off. The bottom plug, a hot one, was used for the cell phone, and charged the phone as the Tribute sat overnight. This is an excellent example of design accommodating modern needs, in Wardlaw's opinion.

Upon his arrival in Tennessee's Cumberland County, the Tribute traversed light snowfall. Wardlaw says that the all-wheel-drive system performed admirably and seamlessly, transferring power from the front to the rear wheels when the fronts slipped in the snow. Also, he noted that the centrally mounted hand-operated e-brake made for good fun in icy parking lots. Whoo-hoo!

Wardlaw had one additional cold-weather-related bit of praise for our Mazda. From our logbook, "The Trib's heater quickly produces warm air, and on its hottest setting, the air flowing from the dash vents damn near singed the hair on the backs of my hands."

One night, he offered the Tribute to his father-in-law, who needed to make a run to the Nashville airport. "Papa," as Wardlaw's kids call him, is shopping for a mini-SUV, and the Trib is one of the models our editor told him to investigate. What are the current front-runners on Papa's list? The Honda CR-V and Subaru Forester are the contenders.

Papa had this to say about the Tribute, "Responsive steering, but it felt small [compared to his 1995 4Runner], like you weren't in anything — it's a good woman's SUV." Ouch! His real name is being withheld to protect his well-being. He also offered comments about good acceleration, handling like a car's, seats that were too stiff and pleasing ergonomic interior design. Sister-in-law Meagan called it "smooth and comfortable, but too small — not an acceptable replacement for my Sienna minivan." Obviously, these aren't mini-SUV people.

After Christmas, Chris headed for home. "Admittedly," he told us, "I blew a great opportunity to really put the Tribute through its paces coming back to California."

"How so?" we asked.

Evidently, the worst ice storm in Arkansas history coated I-40 with ice and snow from Memphis to Albuquerque on the day he headed west from Crossville, Tenn. Wussy-boy turned due south at Nashville, and wound up in balmy Beaumont, encountering nothing more than a few rain showers at the Louisiana/Texas state line. Based on what we saw on the national news of the situation in Little Rock, we'll cut him some slack on this decision to skirt the storm.

The next night, while crossing the extreme southern reaches of New Mexico, Wardlaw lifted his arm from the center console to adjust the stereo volume, when his wrist contacted the gear selector. The selector, which juts out of the steering column and sits right between sightlines for both the stereo and climate controls when the vehicle is placed in Drive, went immediately into Neutral. At 80 mph. With the cruise control on. The engine revved for a split second, the cruise disengaged, and Wardlaw says he nearly had a heart attack thinking he'd spewed the tranny all over the interstate. Mazda really ought to move the shifter to the center console, or consider using a stubby selector like the one on the Ford Taurus.

The following day, Chris arrived home in Santa Clarita, Calif., with enough time to get the filthy Tribute washed. After detailing it in his driveway, he discovered minimal road-trip damage that amounted to a couple of stone chips in the hood, one in the windshield, and a cracked fog light lens. So he made a list of things for Santa Monica Mazda to repair or replace: cracked fog light lens; driver side-view mirror flutter; loose inside tailgate panel; loose rear headliner at tailgate; missing driver side kick-panel screw; and an incorrectly installed driver side windshield wiper blade.

SM Mazda ordered the fog light (the lens cannot be replaced — a whole new assembly was required at a cost of $83.83 plus tax), the mirror, clips for the tailgate panel, kick-panel screws and a new wiper blade. They fixed the rear headliner, which had peeled away from the weather stripping that is supposed to hold it in place, on the spot. At this writing, we're still waiting for the parts to arrive.

So, what's the verdict this month?

Wardlaw writes: "Good looking and with most of the ingredients necessary to make for a desirable yet functional cross between a car and truck, all the Tribute needs to truly succeed is some investment in sound deadening, higher quality materials, a couple more surprise and delight features, a bigger fuel tank and additional adjustment for the front seats (if not for all Tributes, then just for the ES). Also, if the number of recalls is any indicator, more attention to product quality couldn't hurt.

"Overall, the Tribute is a fine conveyance in need of a trip to finishing school. The basics are competently covered, but the rough edges could use some smoothing out. Still, it's a raging bargain for a family of four needing a good blend of low price, handsome styling, a roomy interior and plenty of get-up-and-go, all with the ability to take the worry out of a snowstorm or wet roads. At this point in our test, I give the Tribute a thumbs up."

Current Odometer: 6,303
Best Fuel Economy: 25.2 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 13.8 mpg
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 18.8 mpg
Body Repair Costs: $90.54 (replacement fog light)
Maintenance Costs: None
Problems: Loose interior door panels, poorly aimed headlights, sagging headliner, fluttering side-view mirror, twisted wiper blade.