2008 Mazda Tribute Hybrid

The Mazda Tribute returned for the 2008 after skipping the 2007 model year, with refreshed styling inside and out, as well as new trim levels and new paint choices. Along with the regular model came a brand new Tribute Hybrid. The Tribute HEV is a virtual twin of the Ford Escape Hybrid. The HEV earns fuel economy estimates in the high 20s. The Hybrid has the new styling of the Tribute, which includes a new grille and interior, plus a rear window that now looks more like the Escape's. The new for 2008 Mazda Tribute Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) provides the same size and convenience as the regular Tribute, but with the added environmental benefits of a hybrid powertrain. For a hybrid, the Tribute Hybrid is very affordable, along with offering excellent engineering and mechanical execution. The suspension offers a tight and comfortable ride, and the handling is nimble and steady. The interior has been carefully redesigned to be comfortable, with good headroom and legroom in the rear, and the instrumentation is intelligent and easy to understand and operate.

Tribute Hybrid Power and Drive

Mazda says the Tribute's hybrid drivetrain allows the SUV to run solely on electricity up to 25 mph, which would make it one of the least-polluting cars available for the 2008 model year. The Tribute's hybrid drivetrain generates 155 net horsepower and is controlled by a continuously variable automatic transmission. Available in both two and four wheel drive, the Tribute HEV can be driven at speeds up to 25 mph on electric power alone, and regenerative braking helps to recharge the battery in traffic. Standard safety features include four-wheel antilock disc brakes, dual front, side and curtain airbags, and tire pressure monitoring. The handling is steady, tight and nimble around town. One of the few new mechanical features is electric power rack-and-pinion steering, which helps make the Tribute easy to parallel park. The front fenders are more squared off than before, making it easier to see the front corners when parking; and good visibility with no blind spots out the back is another virtue. There's a tight enough turning radius, which we tested once to catch a parking space on the opposite side of the street.

 Design of the '08 Mazda Hybrid

On the outside of the Tribute Hybrid the grille lost its crossbar, and the Mazda logo has moved up, while the headlights and taillights are new. Fog lights are standard. The windows taper and ascend toward the rear, in line with what many smaller SUVs are doing these days. The grille is black egg-crate, in Mazda's wedge shape that suggests a grin, with a chrome Mazda gullwing logo centered in a chrome strip across the top. The halogen headlights, small and simple trapezoids, complement that shape. Under the nose there's a slim valance, either flat black or flat gray, containing the halogen foglamps, and an opening for more air to the radiator. The rear bumper has a flat shelf having a rubber strip, making climbing up to the roofrack easier; that rack, with crossbars that easily adjust by fingertip knobs, is standard on the hybrid. Overall, the Tribute Hybrid offers a thoughtful design, and many standard features that, on other vehicles, you have to pay extra for.

Mazda Tribute Hybrid Cabin

 The Tribute hybrid has seating for five. The rear seat is split 60/40, and the Tribute has just shy of 30 cubic feet of storage space with the rear seats up; it's 66 cubic feet with them down. The rear window opens independent of the liftgate if you just need to toss your stuff into the back. The rear seats fold easily enough, although not totally flat. The seat bottoms slide forward, and the seatbacks then flop down. For the passengers in the rear seat, there are two fixed cupholders on the console between the front seats, a small storage bin, an AC outlet, map pockets on the front seatbacks, and door pockets. There are no reading lights for them, however. The rear doors close easily with a solid notch for the hand. There's a center console storage compartment that Mazda says is big enough to hold a laptop.

Summary

The Tribute gets front airbags that can sense the weight of occupants and how far the driver is sitting from the steering wheel, allowing the airbags to deploy with the appropriate amount of force. The Tribute's standard side airbags are built into the seats, not the doors, to better protect occupants no matter where the seat is, Mazda says. Visit Edmunds.com 2008 Mazda Tribute Hybrid review for more research. Side curtain airbags and antilock brakes are standard. Roomy and comfortable on the inside, stylish and practical on the outside and fun to drive wherever life takes you, the Tribute Hybrid offers drivers all of this along with even better mileage than the other Tribute models.