Mazda Tribute 2002.. As above 30l v6 model not really a vehicle that has ever been drawn to my attention but it ticks all of the

As above 3.0L V6 Model. Not really a vehicle that has ever been drawn to my attention, but it ticks all of the boxes for the sort of car we want for the wife. Has anybody got any experiences good or bad with these cars! Would love to know about reliability and potential common faults if any! Cheers

Quite thirsty on gas, is about all I have been told, as I was also looking at them, basically they are the same as a ford escape but with a Mazda badge, I was told.

Yep, same as Ford Escape. The V6 engine is a quad cam chain drive unit built by Ford. The 2.3 litre 4 cylinder engine is made by Mazda. As above, thirsty, but the important thing to look after is its cooling system. The water pump is driven by a small rubber band, don't let it break. The head gasket job on these motors is very time consuming and will cost around $5000 to repair, should they let go due to overheating.

Transmissions can give problems if neglected, and engines are known to leak small amounts of oil. Otherwise, they are much more stable on the road than CRVs and RAV4s + the Tribute has much more power which makes it nicer to drive. The Tribute seems to be better priced than most other soft roaders, but beware, not all are 4WDs (the same applies to CRVs and RAVs).

So, to summarise, it's a very good car, but don't let the engine overheat.

Thanks guys, yeah seems to be common with most modern v6's keep them running cool, and they all good. Has anbody else had experiance with them good or bad! Not too worried about fuel economy.