2008 Mazda Tribute
Posted on May 03, 2008 under Mazda |Overall, I have really loved my new 2008 i touring Mazda Tribute. The small SUV comes standard with so many options that other SUV’s charge you for. The upgraded stereo sytem with the 6-CD changer sounds like you are at a concert. The seating is so comfortable, both the driver’s and the passenger seating as well as the back seat. The safty rating’s are excellent. I have had my new 2008 Tribute for about 3 months, no major trouble and the small to mid-size SUV handles like a dream. I test drove many other small to mid size SUV’s and all of them came up short compaired to the Mazda. The emergency brake really bother’s me, it should have been a hand brake. It is very uncomfortable to release the emergency brake, your face is smashed into the steering wheel to do so. The gas mileage is around 24-26 mpg overall and that is for the 4 cyl, not much pick up and go for passing but the mpg is decent. Love my new Mazda Tribute. I expect to see many of these on the roads. Overall rating on a scale of 1-5 would be a 4 1/2. Good job Mazda.
This is my second Tribute. The first one was a little rough around the edges and had to have 3 alternator replacements at $500. each.
First one had a harsh ride and not great cloth interior. Interior lighting was poor and controls were hard to find when driving. This 2008
handles fairly well and does not suffer from the bone jolting ride my other Tribute did. The body looks good. A lot like a mini 2004 vintage Navigator copy. The stereo is great and I like the printout of the songs.
My big complaint is that I wanted leather seats becasue I have dogs and instead found I got only leather trimmed seats. Just o.k.
Gas mileage seems about the same which is not great, however Mazda has dropped the price about 4 grande so it beats the competition. One amusing point is that the manual states that
the vehicle was manufactured by Ford for Mazda. So either Escape or Tribute doesnt matter.
2008 Mazda Tribute Summary
The 2008 Tribute is a 4-door, 5-passenger sport-utility, available in 12 trims, ranging from the i Sport FWD to the s Grand Touring 4WD.
Upon introduction, the i Sport FWD is equipped with a standard 2.3-liter, I4, 153-horsepower engine that achieves 22-mpg in the city and 28-mpg on the highway. A 5-speed manual transmission with overdrive is standard, and a 4-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is optional. The s Grand Touring 4WD is equipped with a standard 3.0-liter, V6, 200-horsepower engine that achieves 17-mpg in the city and 22-mpg on the highway. A 4-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is standard.
The 2008 Tribute is redesigned for 2008.