Strong V6, carlike ride, interior space for size, appearance, price.

Fuel smell that won't go away, no floor A/C, obvious cost-cutting all over the place, universally despised shifter location, shoddy quality control.

Ford 'value-priced' the Tribute/Escape twins. The only problem is that in order to do that, they 'value-built' them, too. It shows. Small things all over the place like a keyless remote that has a range of about 2 feet and no hatch release button, no power door lock switch on the passenger side, unpadded armrests, unlit switch controls, cheaply made plastic intake manifold and poor engine compartment vent design that allows fuel fumes into interior, poor gas mileage, weird gas tank shape that makes the fuel gauge read strangely, poorly designed outside mirrors that create wind noise, cheap (and dangerous) Firestone HT tires, no heated seat or mirror option, no floor A/C...the list goes on and on.

It's really a shame, too, that Ford let the bean-counters run wild because the basic design and execution of these vehicles held so much promise. For the price, the Tribute could have been an out-of-the-ballpark homerun, but, because of all the small things, it's barely a single. If the Highlander wasn't priced so ridiculously high, the quality and attention to detail of the Toyota would easily kill the Tribute/Escape in the marketplace. Ford's just incredibly lucky they were one of the first to the marketplace with a vehicle that has this 'just-right' combination of size, price and power. If they could only have gotten the quality and details right, they'd have sold millions of them.

Similar Products Used:

Subaru Legacy, Toyota 4wd pickup

I would have to say that the best ones are power and handling.

Some wind noise at high speeds. I have found that it comes from the side mirrors and if you pull the drivers side mirror back about 1/4 inch it goes completely away.

I love it. It handles like a car, The V6 is more than enough power for this agile SUV. I would recomend it to anyone. It gets great gas mileage for a V6. It is fun to drive and it deffinately gives you your money's worth.

Similar Products Used:

xerra by nissan-- rides nice but it is still a truck-- no options available--- Ford escape-- very simular-- handles a little more truck like and looks somewhat cheap on the inside

Perfect size vehicle. Good power. Nice looks.

Where to start? Raw fuel smell in the passenger compartment after driving for a couple of miles. Gas mileage is lousy (around 14 mpg city) Lots of rattles in the interior. Shifter design is terrible. Seats are uncomfortable if you sit in them for more than 10 minutes. Wind noise on the highway is unbearable.

I will never again buy a first year vehicle from Ford or Mazda. I like the Tribute, but have had so many problems with defects that I want to trade it in. I would not recommend this vehicle to anyone, at least until Ford/Mazda learn how to build them correctly. I feel that I made a hugh mistake in buying a Tribute. Maybe a longer test drive would have made the design flaws more apparent??

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I should have bought a Toyota Highlander

Engine, Looks, Handling

Shifter (but you really do get used to it), Interior Lighting.

My wife and I are loyal Mazda owners. First car was a 92 MX-3, Second a 99 Miata, and now the 2001 Tribute. If you are familiar with our other cars, driving a SUV was sort of like taking a tank out on a test drive. Not the Tribute. It was astonishingly comfortable and simple to drive. While the Tribute acts like a bigger SUV the handling and steering response is quite impressive. (I did mention that my other car is a Miata?) And the engine response is nice and smooth. It pulls very evenly throughout the entire range. It almost feels like...well...my Miata! (My Miata on steroids and not quite as nimble in the curves but I think you get my drift) It is fun to feel like you can blow away the car next to you at the stop light and you are not in a light sportster! And interior space? Well coming from the Miata, a Geo Metro would provide more space, but even compared to the competition is is very good. Why would anyone buy a CRV or RAV-4 at 22,000 when they can have this vehicle with more power, 4 wheel drive and just as good gas mileage? Oh, by the way, that is something we are a little unsatisfied with. We normally get 21mpg. No where close to the 24mpg advertised. Other than that, the Tribute has been excellent. We received over 30 inches of snow this year in December and it handled like a dream. My wife was able to go through the country roads to work without fearing for her life. It is really a very capable SUV and really there is not anything that will compare. I know, there are people out there who have to buy a BMW or the Mercedees. That's ok if you have an extra 20,000 to spend but I live in the real world and have a real job. Besides if I ever have the extra 20,000, I can strap it to the roof and pretend I spent that much on the Tribute. It is worth every penny and then some!

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Tested all SUV in class. NO COMPARRISON. Tribute wins in just about everything

Styling, Power, Sound System, Great Rims!

Gas Mileage; that %@#%& shifter (Thinking of sawing it down myself); and does anyone else get a gas smell coming from the vents after you've parked, gone into the store let's say, and get back in/drive off? Hmmmm...
And the leather could be of better quality.

I was coming off of an Acura TL, then a Nissan Altima SE, so I was basically a passenger car guy who thought to jump into the SUV arena. Every SUV before this one felt too much like a truck, where this one rides pretty darned nice! Not an Acura, but great for an 'ute. I'm not sure why I can't get great gas mileage out of this thing... I don't drive like a maniac, but I've been reading that the dealers are telling people it will get better after a few thousand miles. All in all... love this car.

Similar Products Used:

Xterra (archaic design- based on old Frontier truck); Escape (too ugly); Pathfinder (too expensive- but LOVED that new 240hp V6)

zippy

My experience with my Tribute has been somewhat aggravating. Since the first day I've driven it off the lot, it has had a problem with shifting into overdrive - somewhat of a hesitation or studder. It has been back for service 3 times so far for this issue. Recently they discovered Mazda had an upgrade for a control module which was supposed to correct the problem. Driving it for only 2 days since the repair, the problem with the shifting has gotten worse. Hopefully the dealership or Mazda will rectify the problem once and for all!

Good

Similar Products Used:

None

Drives and handles great. Rides and handles like a sports car.

The starter burned up at 4000 miles. I turned the key off to stop the engine. The starter came on, would not stop, and continued for about 5 minutes. It finally stopped when it literally burned up getting everything else under the hood extremely hot.
The rear window rattles.
There's a lot of wind noise at high speeds.
I was shocked to find no cruise control installed.
The doors can only be locked and unlocked on the drivers side when using electric locks.

My reason to buy a Mazda Tribute were looks and quality. I have believed for many years that if a vehicle was designed or made in Japan,it had to be top quality. I'm now having second thoughts.

Similar Products Used:

None

Engine (V6), Size, Audio, Handling

Lack of Cruise Control option on DX, DX-V6 levels of trim

Having come from full sized trucks (Ford F-250 and Chevy Silverado) the location of the shifter and its length is not a problem for me nor is the wind noise (chevy was a wind tunnel at highway speeds) Gas mileage is not at advertized but it has less than 50 miles on it at this point. Only complaint I have is that you have to upgrade to lx or es to get cruise control and I live in an area with large amounts of highway driving. Comming from a series of V8's I wanted a V6 and this or ford was about the only options. I chose the Mazda because the price was better and local mazda dealership has good service dept. and ford's was an unknown. Only other odd bit is location of parking brake it seems to be placed for the passenger to operate. Would recomend it to anyone and have to a coworker.

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Tested against Rodeo, Santa Fe. Have had full sized trucks in past.

Powerful, smooth engine, great ride, very classy looking and feeling SUV for 25K. Great gas mileage for a SUV, full time 4WD, side airbags, ABS, very easy to drive.

Seats can be a little uncomfortable on long trips ( which is what we have mainly used this car for ) Not much else.

I would definitely recommend this car. It looks and feels like a much more expensive car than it is. Definitely more upscale than the Ford Escape equivalent. Full time 4WD keeps you from having to think about shifting into 4WD. Right now, it seems to be a pretty unique car around town. Only bad thing is that it is difficult to find one like we have ( ES 4WD with all options). It seems as though very few cars on the lot have the ABS/ side airbag package which is a MUST at a mere $495. Also a little difficult to find the 5W-20 oil that the manufacturer recommends. I finally found it at Wal-mart, but no auto parts stores stock it yet.

Similar Products Used:

Nissan Xterra-pay more for less features
Hyundia Santa Fe- Hyundai? No way!!
Jeep Cherokee-More $ for similar features, too many of them on the road

Almost Everything. Fit, finish examplary; transmission like Mercedes'; engine sound delicious;

Wind noise from front pillars; VERY awkard shift column blocking radio controls; ventilation insufficient for feet and recirculation means no movement of air; trunk space not deep enough without back seat flattened; could use brighter head lights (how about high intensity! ??); and horn button takes lots of effort to depress....could be a hazard in emergency; miss seperate trip and normal milage odometers (only one display) BUT THESE ARE MINOR IRRITANTS; would be nice to have five speeds manual for the V-6 or skid control for the automatic (are you listening, Mazda/Ford?)

Absolutely astounding! My EX-V6 has got to be the run away value of the decade! I got rid of a fairly new Subaru Legacy wagon for this and not regretting it one bit. The new H-6 Outback is way overpriced. The folks at Subaru is trying to go up market into Audi territory like VW Passat 4-Motion. But hey! The improvement in H-6's perfromance just simply is not enough to justify the enormous hike in price. The Tribute is a Cdn $50,000 car with a Cdn$35,000 price tag! A Home Run!