60,000 Mile Review of the Perfect Light Duty SUV

We have owned our 2002 Mazda Tribute LX 4x4 since early 2003 when it had 12,000 miles. It now has just over 60,000 miles - below are my experiences.

I originally bought the Tribute because I'm more of a sports car guy, and instead of riding on a poor handling truck chassis, the Tribute was based on the strong and responsive Mazda 626 chassis. At the time, basing a SUV on a car chassis was a somewhat new idea, and has since been emulated by many other manufacturers. Quite simply, most SUV are willing to sacrifice some off-road prowess for better handling and more ride comfort - that's what sets the Tribute apart.

In addition, the Tribute is equipped with a peppy 200 horsepower V6 engine with a few surprises. The biggest surprise is highway fuel economy. One one particular trip from Wisconsin home to St Louis, I observed over 28mpg for the trip. Other highway trips have averaged 25-26mpg. Highway use is less spectacular, averaging 21-22mpg. Still, this is more than I expected!

Our Tribute has been economical in other ways as well. Since a couple trips to the dealership under warranty to fix a pesky radiator fluid level light, the Tribute has been totally reliable. That's extremely important to potential buyers of a car that no longer has warranty coverage, and I feel confident in recommending the Tribute based on reliability. It is easy on tires, other SUV's wear tires out quickly, not the Tribute. In fact, the factory tires lasted longer than the warranty, and replacements were under $300 for a set from tirerack.com

It's hard to come up with any negatives, and the ones I can think of are minor. The front brakes were squeaky for a period recently, however were replaced at under $100. My only other complaints are minor - the steering wheel controls for cruise control got tight over time, and could use to be backlit. And why would any manufacturer not include a thermometer for outside temperature in 2002?

The Tribute has served my needs extremely well. I've used it on several occasions to tow a 3000 pound car with no problems. It has plenty of room for long trips with 3-4 people and luggage. The included 6 disc in-dash changer and stereo are excellent! Ergonomics are as good as one can expect, seats are comfortable and climate controls work great and the fan is quiet.

Compared to others in class like the Toyota Highlander and CR-V, I think the Tribute sets itself apart by being able to do so many things so well. It has no real weaknesses, and in todays used market is quite a bargain. I'd recommend it gladly to anyone!