Postby acesinghit » July 29th, 2008, 12:32 pm
they are very good unibody crossover SUV's and had good reviews and sold well in north america, asia, new zealand and australia etc... There are 2.0, 2.3 and 3.0 versions the latter a V6 engine all featuring DOHC and 4-valve per cylinder and EFI. All are 4-speed automatic and the platform was derived from the last generation 626. Its handling is not clumsy for a high centre of gravity vehicle and fuel economy is normal in keeping with the engine size and vehicle weight. Once properly maintained the drivetrain should stand up although there may be some similarity wrt the transmission on 92-97 models of the 626 which from what i gather had some factory recalls and some problems.
the few that was sold in t&t are basic models only.......there are few V6 models on the road and they are the 2001-2003/4 models b4 mazda did a refresh to the design. Updated Tributes came with electronic 4WD, 16" 5-lug rims, side running boards, front and rear mud guards, sunroof, spoiler, roof rack with cross bars, fog lights, 200 HP V6, floor mounted gear shift instead of column mounted, 8 airbags, in-dash 6-CD changer, leather seats, electric driver's seat, cruise control etc etc..
The Tribute was also rebadged as a Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner so in total the trio is extremely popular in the US.
The 2nd gen model released last year is basically the same vehicle but just a new body thats all.
back when it came out the Tribute brought a level of sportiness and sophistication together with power unheard of in the compact SUV class and beat rivals such as the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Honda Passport, Nissan X-Terra, Nissan X-Trail, Mitsubishi Outlander, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Isuzu Rodeo, Isuzu Amigo, Isuzu VehiCross, Subaru Forester, Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sportage, Jeep Liberty, Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Cherokee, Chevrolet Tracker, Pontiac Aztek and Daewoo Korando to name a few so much so that in the March 2001 Issue of Car and Driver magazine the Mazda Tribute/Ford Escape came first in a 11 compact SUV comparo with rankings as:
1st tie Mazda Tribute LX 3.0 V6 / Ford Escape XLT 3.0 V6
3rd Toyota RAV4 2.0
4th Subaru Forester S 2.5
5th Honda CR-V SE 2.0
6th Hyundai Santa Fe 2.7 V6
7th Nissan Xterra XE 3.3 V6
8th Chevrolet Tracker ZR-2 2.5 V6
9th Suzuki Grand Vitara JLX Limited 2.5 V6
10th Jeep Cherokee Sport 4.0 straight 6
11th Kia Sportage Limited 2.0
