Before owning this Tribute, I had a big GMC Sierra Z71 full-size truck. It was way too big for me, I had a hard time parking it and making sharp turns. So a major criteria for me when looking for a SUV to replace the truck was that it had a good turning radius and was small enough to fit into most parking spaces without getting door dings. I did my research and took my time. I looked at the Tribute, Ford Escape, Hyundai Santa Fe, Honda CRJ, Subaru Forrester, and Toyota Rav4. I decided on the Tribute due mainly to the looks and the price. I also really liked the Rav4 but for the same amount of money I got all kinds of gadgets on the Tribute that I would have had to pay a lot more for on the Rav4. So, I bought a Tribute LX with a car alarm, ABS brakes (which are not standard by the way!), 6disc CD changer, and sunroof.

I owned the Tribute for about 8 months. At first I really loved it. It drove great, the V6 has plenty of power and I had no problems being able to pass on the highway. It is a great size, just big enough to fit 4 folks comfortably, but not so big that I had a hard time parking it. Gas mileage was not too bad, I averaged 19 mpg in town. I thought I had found the perfect vehicle for me. Then I took it on a long road trip with my boyfriend. First thing we noticed was the road and wind noise. It was awful and so loud! Yes, I had noticed already when driving it around town day to day that it was a little noisy but I guess it really takes spending 9 hours in the car at one time to realize how awful it really is. We both had headaches after listening to the noise for a long time. It gets really bad on highways - the wind noise is so loud that it truly was difficult trying to carry on a conversation.
Then the back pains started. Literally. The passenger seat especially is so uncomfortable that after about an hour in the seat our backs were killing us. We had to stop about every hour and a half or so and swap driving. The drivers seat was not so uncomfortable, I think mainly because it had a 6way power seat and lumbar support and you could adjust it to fit you a little better. Pay close attention to the comfort of these seats when you sit in them. They are fine for short trips around town but think if you had to sit in them for an extended period of time. The seats are small, they do no go far enough under your knees to give proper support. They are also very hard, there is not enough cushioning in them. Just to make sure I did not have defective seats, I took the Tribute into the dealer after that road trip and asked them to look at the seats. Of course they came back and told me that the seats are normal and there is nothing wrong with them.
I like going on road trips so for me this vehicle was no long acceptable for me. I made the decision to trade it in and I now own a 2003 GMC Envoy.
Amount Paid (US$): 24100
Condition: New
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: LX 2WD Sunroof