Road Tests: Long-Term Test

Video highlights of this vehicle

This month, the Tribute was in the welcoming hands of in-house photographer Scott Jacobs. He immediately fell in love with the Tribute for its fun driving qualities and versatility.

"I rotated into the Tribute at just the perfect time. I was due to make a Costco run for house supplies and to pad out the freezer; the Tribute's healthy cargo capacity was a welcome bonus." After being deluged by sample ladies, people with carts overflowing with bulk items and long lines that moved at an excruciatingly slow pace, Scott finally made it out $200 lighter. When the back seats were folded down, the large packages of toilet paper and paper towels were swallowed up by the Tribute's large cargo area. In fact, the Tribute has a surprising 63 cubic feet of cargo capacity with the rear seats down. "If I was driving my Honda Accord, my car would be so full of bulk items it would have looked like one of those pack-rat cars you see every once in a while."

Besides the fact that the Tribute helped him do his part for the economy as a consumer, Scott also found many other facets of the truck to his liking. "Right off the bat, I found that the engine is the best part of the Tribute," remarked Scott. "The V6, with its 200 horsepower, is a great plus for this vehicle. I never felt that I was at a loss for power. It has great jump off the line and awesome passing ability at any speed." Despite Scott's tendencies to be a lead foot, he also found that the Tribute was just plain fun to drive. "The engine makes this thing a blast to drive. I like cars to have some zip to them, and the Tribute made me a believer in the Mazda corporate motto of 'Zoom Zoom'."

Besides having the annoyingly catchy 'Zoom Zoom' jingle repeat in his mind every time he hit the accelerator, Scott had praise for the steering, too. "It really did feel nimble. It made getting around town or maneuvering in parking lots a snap. It didn't feel like many other SUVs I've driven. Mazda engineers certainly have this little baby dialed in." Thanks to the speed-sensing rack-and-pinion, the Tribute's steering truly is unlike most SUVs'.

Due to the popularity of SUVs in Southern California, Scott has become jaded to the masses of oversized sport-utes. You can hardly drive for 30 seconds in Los Angeles without seeing some kind of SUV. Scott found the compromises between the versatility of a full-size SUV and the manageable size of a car to be well balanced in the Tribute. "I know I have a bias toward the smaller sport sedans, but this 'mini' SUV won a place in my heart." Scott found many parallels between the Tribute and an undersized athlete like the basketball player Muggsy Bogues. "They may be small, but they're tough and have a lot of heart. The Tribute is like this in terms of being small, but having the versatility to carry home the large amounts of bulk items from Costco, or even carrying five adults to and from a baseball game in relative comfort like a larger SUV."

However, all was not glee in Scott's estimation of the Tribute. "I have issues with the Tribbie feeling a touch cheap," commented Scott. In particular was the feel of the door handles. "They are made of some flimsy plastic, they have virtually no resistance, and they are so loosely fastened that you can shake them about with ease. You could also pull them (when the door was closed) past a 45-degree angle without opening it. That, in my book, is cheap." Scott also echoed previous updates about the quality of materials in the cabin. He felt that most of the interior materials were second-rate, and the introduction of higher-quality materials would greatly increase the level of owner satisfaction. Also, Scott found the doors to lack the solid construction of other SUV doors. "When you close a truck door, you get that confidently solid 'whump' sound when it closes. In the Tribute, it sounds quite tinny and hollow. I shudder to think of being hit from the side." It should be noted, however, that in crash-test safety ratings for the side impact front category, the Tribute received an 'excellent' or five-star crash test score from NHTSA.

"Overall, I found this mini-SUV to be a great package," observed Scott. "Besides having a thing for smaller vehicles, I would consider this kind of SUV for myself. It has an attractively small size with an engine that packs a lot of power."

Current Odometer: 22,033
Best Fuel Economy: 21.8 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 14.1 mpg
Running Average (over life of vehicle): 18.5 mpg
Body Repair Costs: None
Maintenance Costs: None
Problems: None