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 powertrain 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’ve 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.
