Faults:

Minor body work when bought, was retouched but could do with another one.

Acquired a minor dent whilst parked at work; someone opened a truck door and dented the driver's side rear pillar, no repair required.

Boot lock relay has failed, but not repaired it yet.

General Comments:

Well built, but starting to show its age a little in the bodywork, although it's still pretty good all in all.

Surprised me greatly during the heavy snow late in 2010, where it coped admirably with very difficult conditions and deep snow. NOT a Land Rover Defender, but it made Freelanders look fairly pathetic.

The boot is fairly spacious, and with the seats down, it's a good load carrier.

The engine is smooth, but you do need to rev it if you need to make progress.. But a fairly refined cruiser, and the cruise control makes motorways easy.

Leather interior has worn well, and seats are pretty good. Dash uncluttered.

Fuel economy - not bad, but it's a 4x4 so don't expect mega figures. I reckon a 30mpg average is fair, and you will get a lot better on motorways.

Faults:

The engine warning light on the dashboard wasted no time in lighting up after I'd bought the car. This was traced back to an expensive engine part called the ERG Valve. The previous owner was a gent who replaced this at his own cost (about 350 euro).

Since then, I have had no problems whatsoever.

General Comments:

This car is good fun to drive and has decent acceleration through 2nd-5th gear. It is bright, airy, and reasonably comfortable inside. My last car was a VW Passat which initially made the Tribute's interior look cheap and nasty, and the car feel rough on bumps and corners, but the upside is a very firm ride and a no-nonsense approach to roundabouts. Other reviews have mentioned a sticky/ clunky gearshift, which is spot on.

The Tribute is a fairly priced and OK looking SUV. Modern upgrades to the Rav4, CRV and the new Korean SUV's make the Trib looked dated and sparse inside, but I've been in most of these cars and would still prefer the Tribute's all round package of space, functionality, reliability and drivability.

Faults:

Smell of burning rubber in cabin.

Engine speed accelerates and slows without warning.

Slow starting.

Failure to start.

Noisy engine even whilst standing.

Notchy gear change.

Sticking throttle.

Engine stalled at 40 mph.

Despite all these problems, the dealer has only diagnosed and rectified the sticking throttle.

These faults are reported world wide, but Mazda and their dealers have little in the way of customer care.

General Comments:

Good sized S.U.V. with plenty of luggage room.

Refined interior, although quite a lot of plastic.

Unlikely to see many others on the road, which makes it difficult to find a specialist garage.