Faults:

Engine has begun to flood (exerting more gasoline into the cylinders than needed), causing my spark plugs to blow three times in one year, and all three catalytic converters to be replaced (costing me a jaw-dropping thousand to fix).

Has what I call a hiccup (a quick jolt) every time I go up a hill. Most likely due to the engine flooding. Very annoying.

Due to flooding, I now get 10 miles (on a good day) to the gallon, as opposed to the advertisement's 24 highway.

Loud, noisy, annoying engine.

Cheap, plastic-y radio and entertainment system.

Accelerator has become loose, but that is to be expected for a car with 112,000 miles on it.

Brakes squeal loudly.

Acceleration has declined noticeably, most likely due to the engine losing power while flooding.

Overall, an unreliable, cheaply-made car, with an engine developed by the car company I've come to loathe: Ford.

General Comments:

Handles well.

Leather seats are amazingly comfortable.

Stylish interior.

Has a nice, aggressive look for a compact SUV.

Not enough good factors to compensate for the bad.

Overall, horrible engine that Mazda/Ford tried to cover up with a fancy interior.

Faults:

Only one issue to date.

The Tribute had severe negative chamber right out of the manufacturing plant. Never noticed it because it didn't pull to either side and the tire wear was facing inside. Only noticed it after someone else pointed out the severe wear when the tires were turned out in a parking lot. Our local mechanic said it came out of the plant that way. tisk, tisk... must've been a Friday afternoon...

To adjust, the struts etc need to be pulled out. 2-3 hours labor plus a new tire.

We hope our local dealer will take care of this for us under warranty. We'll see.

General Comments:

We love the Tribute in general.

Drives like a champ in the snow (already 2 feet this season in Denver). My wife who hates driving in snow doesn't think twice about it with the Tribute.

Drives great up to and in the mountains.

Does squeak a bit over bumps.

Faults:

Nothing yet.

Except the exhaust makes a odd noise on startup. But it still runs perfectly fine.

General Comments:

This small SUV is suprisingly fun to drive. The V6 will throw you to the seat if you floor it... lots of get-up-and-go, even though it will sometimes hesitate on takeoff.

The optional premium 7 speaker sound system sounds great for a factory stereo.

The rear seat is bigger than you would expect in a car of this compact size.

This SUV looks much sportier when compared to the Ford Escape which it is based on, a plus for a young driver as myself.

The automatic engaging 4WD works great in the snow... never gotten stuck yet.

About the only thing I would change would be rear visibility. The headrests can block some of your vision. And the fuel economy could be better. But I'm not complaining too loudly.