2008 Mazda Tribute Hybrid Preview Allegan MI

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Introduction

2008 Mazda Tribute Hybrid Preview - Detroit Auto Show: From a business standpoint, it makes sense: Start with one of your partner's vehicles, in this case the Ford Escape Hybrid, rework the styling a bit, add your own badges, and introduce yourself to shoppers everywhere as a brand invested in gas/electric technology. Talk about taking the easy way out. With the stylish and turbo charged CX-7 and seven-passenger CX-9 gracing the Mazda stables, one can see little reason to carry on with the Tribute, unless it's just cheap and easy to re badge a Ford and, of course, if it lets you tap into the hybrid market. That's what we're betting.

Why it matters

Taking advantage of its relationship with Ford, Mazda finally enters the hybrid scene, which opens it up to a growing number of environmentally-aware buyers. The company hasn't released fuel economy data for the 2008 Tribute Hybrid, but we can borrow numbers from Ford. The 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid, which shares its power train with the 2008 Escape and 2008 Mazda Tribute hybrids, was estimated by the EPA to return 36 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway in front-wheel-drive trim, and 32/29 mpg in four-wheel-drive guise. We have found those numbers to be a bit optimistic, but they're useful for comparison, and even with a fudge factor rolled in, real-world fuel economy is usually better than gas-only competitors.