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Mazda Tribute, because if you want a budget Ford Escape or generally want an soft-roader for little money, then the Mazda Tribute is for you. Mazda Tribute, the fast food joint for when the canteen is too expensive.

The year is 2000 and The Sims has just launched together with the big show Big Brother, which would change the face of television and give it some plastic surgery that would make Kim Kardashian green in envy. And in the automotive world we had the Toyota Rav4 which was kickstarting the cross-over hysteria, so Ford thought of releasing the first cross-over, with a unibody construction and no ladder frame chassis like all the real men's cars had at that time. And Ford thought of turning to Mazda, because in 1979 they bought 24.5% of Mazda shares and in 1995 they needed two turnips in heat and went 33.4% on Mazda shares, so they were pretty much owners. So they rang up the people from Mazda HQ and decided that a joint cross-over is the hottest thing they need to do in 2000. 

Which turned out to be very important for Mazda, because Ford had been building SUVs and trucks for some time, but for Mazda it was effectively their first cross-over / SUV. And without the Mazda Tribute, or Matsuda Toribyūto as the Japanese say, we wouldn't have gotten the Mazda CX-5 in 2011. In fact, some even say that without the Mazda Tribute we wouldn't have tofu cheese, water flowing from the wall and straight railways.

How is the Tribute different from the Escape?

• Well, first of all, Mazda is written on one and Ford on the other.


• Secondly, the Mazda Tribute comes with a slightly sportier suspension because Mazda couldn't resist, but otherwise they are identical. And somehow the Tribute is cheaper than the Escape on the used market.


• The big one however is that the Tribute didn't get the hybrid powertrain, making sure that the Tribute does stay the budget cousin of the family. Only the Escape and the Mercury Mariner got the Toyota engineered hybrid powertrain, so it's all naturally aspirated for you baby!

Mazda Tribute EP Engines

Petrol

• 2.0 YF of 124 horsepower – This is not the stock Mazda engine, but the old ZeTec from Ford, which you find in the Mondeo and other stuff from when you were young and able. Occasionally you have to replace the thermostat, but otherwise it's an engine you can forget about, just like how girls tend to forget that they had a date with me and never show up. 


• 2.3 MPI L3 of 150 horsepower - Here we have a proper Mazda engine, but as I said in the Escape review, the engine is reliable but it is crippled by the council taxes in many countries so yeah. Not sure about it. 


• 3.0 V6 AJ of 200 horsepower – An American engine for a Japanese car. Yes, it only has 200 horsepower. Yes, it's not very economical. But it will outlast the rest of the car. Possibly it will even bury you. 

Mazda Tribute EP Reliability Issues

• It is not the safest in case of an accident. I don't want to have an accident like that, but even less would I do it behind the wheel of a Mazda Tribute.


• Yea, there is an 4 speed automagic but I would hard pass on that. Not that reliable, and prolly wasn't that well serviced during it's life. 


• As goes with the Escape / Maverick, the rust is literally everywhere, and it's especially bad on the subframe. Ford and Mazda decided that paint is for wusses and decided to bolt on plastic. So now pretty much everything was left exposed and it rusted away.

Mazda Tribute EP Verdict

The Mazda Tribute EP remains the budget version of the Ford Escape and is definitely a good choice for the type of person who wants to buy their first SUV to go soft roading and doesn't want to take the financial plunge into something expensive. Yes, it's not an SUV and it's technically the first crossover from Ford and the first real crossover from Mazda, but it's an almost memorable car. But atleast if it weren't for the Mazda Tribute EP, we would not have gotten the Mazda CX-5, its direct successor. It can be seen that Mazda learned its lesson well from the Tribute.

Which engines do I recommend? Any petrol engine will do really. If you're not in a tax punishing country, then the 2.3 litre Mazda engine is the middle of the road and the pick of the bunch. But you won't go wrong with any of the engines really.