When I learned that the Tribute had front ventilated discs and rear drums I was a little shocked. The brakes seemed very good, but to have drums on the back baffled me. Nevertheless, the anti-lock braking (ABS) system that came standard on the ES reassured my confidence. To be fair, not many compact SUV competitors offer rear discs. Some say this is mostly because drums are deemed better for off-road use, but being that the Tribute doesn't feature a low gearing ratio, and that the majority of its owners will never venture off pavement, it's hard to make this argument.

As for fuel efficiency, the powerful AWD V6 Tribute I tested rated at 13.1 L/100 km in the city and 9.4 L/100 km on the highway. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press)

Along with its powerful V6 and AWD, came the expected thirst for fuel. My test car is rated at 13.1 L/100 km in the city and 9.4 L/100 km on the highway, hardly as efficient as Honda's CR-V or Toyota's RAV4. Strange as it sounds, I didn't mind dishing out the extra bucks to drive a little bit more in Mazda's SUV. It was worth it.

It's the little details that Mazda incorporates into its compact SUV that really tickle my fancy. (Photo: Alexandra Straub, Canadian Auto Press)

And it wasn't just the power and handling that makes it enjoyable. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, it's the little details that Mazda incorporates into its compact SUV that tickle my fancy. For instance, when preparing to load a CD into the ES model's standard 6-disc changer it beeps when ready to slide it in. I found this to be helpful when driving because I didn't have to take my eyes off the road every few seconds to see if the system was ready, I just waited for the beeping to stop and then I knew it was ready to load. Not to mention the sound quality of the system, which also includes an AM/FM tuner, cassette deck, clock and seven premium speakers with a 90w amp and super woofer, was great no matter what genre of music I chose to listen to.