Road Tests: Long-Term Test

Video highlights of this vehicle

Two editors shared the Tribute this month — first, our stylish blue sport-ute spent a quiet 10 days in suburbia with our associate editor, Erin Riches, and then, Editor-in-Chief Karl Brauer whisked it off for a tour of the western states with his family. Since Brauer actually had an opportunity to test the Trib's capabilities outside of greater Los Angeles and since he represents one of the target buyer groups (married, two young children) for this vehicle, we'll start with his travel log:

"I drove the long-term Tribute on a family vacation that took me from Los Angeles to Denver by way of Sedona and Flagstaff, Ariz., the Grand Canyon, the Four Corners and Durango, Colo. The trip took eight days and was primarily done on highways at speeds above 50 mph, but with plenty of time spent at slower speeds while climbing twisty mountain passes or driving in city traffic.

"The first thing I noticed even before leaving L.A. was how much space exists in this 'mini-ute.' This applies to both cargo space behind the second-row seat and storage cubbies throughout the front seat area. The center console is both large and felt-lined to keep things from rattling and proved to be the perfect place to stick my video camera for impromptu vacation shots. The cupholders (two) are conveniently located between the seats and can hold all but the largest water bottles. Then there's the small cubby ahead of the cupholders, plus another cubby higher up in the dash, perfect for cell phones, sunglasses, and so on. I was somewhat concerned about using the Tribute for this trip when a perfectly functional (and huge) minivan was in my garage, but, for the most part, my fears were unfounded. The Tribute proved capable of hauling my family of four and all their stuff. My wife could even sit in the second-row seat, between the two child seats, when she wanted to tend to the kids.

"Horsepower was the first trait that I came to appreciate after leaving L.A. for Phoenix. With 200 horsepower, the Tribute makes almost as much power as larger minivans, but its relatively light curb weight gives it a spirited character — at low altitude. What had felt like all the power one would ever need in Arizona (even with the A/C cranked full blast) started to wane once we tackled our first mountain pass in Colorado. At 10,000 feet, the Tribute wasn't nearly as willing, though that's to be expected. My feeling is that the Mazda performed adequately considering the vehicle load and altitude, but I can't imagine what a four-cylinder version would have been like. If you live in the Rockies, don't even think about buying one with the base engine.

"Accompanying the passing issue at higher elevations was an automatic transmission that sometimes seemed confused. I often found that it would upshift too soon when horsepower was needed for climbing, thus losing the necessary torque to hold a speed and resulting in a slow loss of momentum. I also noticed that while it did this when I floored the pedal, it would hold a gear longer when I pushed the accelerator down two-thirds of the way. Once I figured this out, I used this 'two-thirds throttle' technique to keep the vehicle from upshifting, but found it strange that when telling the Tribute I wanted less than all-out power, it was more likely to hold a gear to make useful power (rather than upshift). Also, more than once it upshifted to its top gear with a noticeable 'thud' while lurching forward. This seemed to happen most often when I quickly lifted off the throttle while accelerating hard up a steep incline. Maybe it was because the tranny was both upshifting and going into overdrive/torque-converter lock-up at the same time. Whatever the case, it wasn't a particularly pleasant feeling.

"Something that never faltered was the Tribute's sound system. We tried both homemade cassette tapes and CDs, and the quality of the music was excellent. Plenty of low-end punch and overall volume, plus the in-dash CD changer was convenient and very quick to respond to 'load' and 'unload' commands.

"Interior noise was something other editors had warned me about prior to leaving. I was prepared to have to shout at my wife to carry on a conversation after listening to their descriptions. What I found was that the Tribute's wind and road noise levels were highly variable. The wind noise was more consistent, but could still change depending on how much wind was blowing outside and in what direction. If you were driving into a steady wind or hitting a cross wind, a lot of 'whooshing' got through to the cabin, but if the outside air was calm, or if there was a tailwind, the noise level dropped considerably. Tire and road noise was even more unpredictable. Sometimes it was just a slight drone, while at other times, it almost completely drowned out interior conversation and made shouting to people in the second row a requirement. The Tribute's Firestone tires were probably the primary culprits, though more sound-deadening under the carpet would have certainly helped.

"Gas mileage throughout the trip averaged about 20 mpg. I was expecting more considering the many highway miles we traveled, but it should be noted that the speed limit was often 70 or 75, with the actual vehicle's speed at least that high for entire tankfuls. Still, considering that this was a mini-ute not dealing with stop-and-go traffic, I was disappointed to find that the fuel light came on after only 250 freeway miles. I don't think this vehicle could pull 300 miles out of a tank of gas, which is too short of a range for my tastes.

"My wife and I both noticed some muscle fatigue after long hours in the Tribute, but I attribute (hyuk-hyuk!) that to improper posture as much as to seat design. When sitting up straight the front seats felt comfortable, if a little flat. Lower back pain would start to creep in when I slouched, and after 12 hours in the car, my butt was getting numb. These were pretty extreme driving conditions, however, and I feel confident that someone driving for less than 10 hours a day, and sitting up straight the whole time, would find little to complain about.

"Overall, I give the Tribute a thumbs up as a long-distance traveler for the modern family. Plenty of interior space, car-like handling, an attractive outer shell and horsepower to keep you happy unless loaded and driven above 10,000 feet. I'd like to see some improvement in cabin noise, fuel mileage and transmission intelligence, and the climate control dials feel a little light and flimsy. Otherwise, it's a solid buy for the person who wants the SUV image without SUV headaches like body roll and parking problems."