Hi Everyone,

I'm in the market for a new vehicle and am considering the I4 Tribute, I was wondering if any current owners could provide some insight into the 2.3l. Is the engine reliable, is it powerful enough for the vehilce size and weight, are repairs reasonable or are parts overpriced. I'm in Canada,I realize there will be some variation as many people may be in the United States, but any input is helpful.

Thanks

for the record I'm interested in the 2 wheel drive version, also does anyone know if this is a Mazda or Ford powerplant?

 

Hello...I don't know much about the 4 cylinder Tribute since I own a V6 AWD, but I can tell you that the 2.3 litre engine is a Ford powerplant. This engine can also be found in the Ford Focus. I know someone who has a 2WD Escape (Tribute twin) with this engine and an automatic transmission, and he claims the engine is fine in terms of power. I know he is not a leadfoot guy, so his expectations may be different than yours. I drove a 2006 4 cylinder 5-speed AWD Tribute, and while it's power was far short of my V6, it seemed sufficient.

Hope this helps.

One more thing...as for the reliability of this engine, I think it has a pretty good reputation. My own personal experience is a friend who had this engine in a Focus and he put well over 200,000 kms on it before trading it in.

 

Hello all. New member = me. I'm a Mazda technician at Classic Mazda in Denton, TX. I'm not a master, but I work on these things every day and I continue to learn more every day.

Now for a reply to this thread..

The 2.3 definitely seems to be a Ford design, but they're built seemingly both here and in Japan. You'll find it in the Tribute/Escape, the Mazda 3, and the Mazda 6, as one of the optional motors for each of those models. The CX-7 has a turbocharged 2.3, giving it pretty decent power. The Mazdaspeed 3 has that same turbo 2.3 motor, as did the no-longer-in-production Mazdaspeed 6. Both of those cars just BEG for you to hit the throttle.

In terms of power, from personal experience in driving them, I find that while the 2.3 has plenty of power for the 3 and generally for the 6, it's severely lacking adequacy for the Tribute. Simple problem of power-to-weight ratio. 2.3L Tributes likely suit well (as said) for those who don't ever really accelerate quickly. But if you're like me, and you like to be at or a few over the highway speed limit by the time you're at the end of the on-ramp, or if you want the ability to quickly get out of a nasty/cluster-filled situation, you'll want the V6. I drive a '98 protege LX with the 1.5L + manual trans, and it feels like I can do better at the above situations than in a 2.3 Tribute. However most Tributes on the road are automatics. If my car was an automatic, it would be much harder to get out of sticky situations. As 04tributelxowner pointed out, power seemed sufficient on the '06 5 speed. The transmission makes a world of difference.

BTW I might point out in my first reply/post on this forum that my replies tend to be lengthy. Hopefully I won't get any "tl/dr" responses haha.