The new Mazda Tribute retains the 3.0-litre petrol V6 engine, which delivers superior engine performance and smooth engine operation.

New to the line up is a 2.3-litre 110 kW/150 PS MZR petrol, replacing the 2.0-litre engine. A slightly more powerful version of the large petrol in the Mazda MPV, Mazda Tribute's new four-cylinder engine delivers agile performance and combines this with good fuel economy and smooth, quiet operation. It features a rigid, closed deck cast aluminium-alloy cylinder block — made even more rigid by an aluminium bearing-cap beam integrated into the lower cylinder block — along with a deep skirt construction that ensures a tight seal against the cylinder head for reduced operating harshness. The pistons are lightweight with molybdenum-coated skirts, and connecting rods are sinter-forged with fraction-split big ends, both of which contribute to low levels of engine noise. For even more operating smoothness, the engine has a compact, cassette-type balancer shaft with eight counterweights that turns at twice the speed of the crankshaft, and a crankshaft pulley equipped with a torsional damper.

The new engine also features a variable intake-air system (VIS), for good amounts of torque and agility. Located in the intake manifold, VIS controls the intake passage length by opening and closing the secondary air chamber valve according to engine speed to optimise cylinder charge effect. As a result, the 2.3-litre MZR produces 200 Nm of maximum torque at 4000 rpm with a top speed of 171 km/h, making it responsive and agile in all driving situations, both on and off-road. And SUV driving flexibility is not achieved at the cost of consumption or emissions. The new Mazda Tribute equipped with the 2.3-litre MZR petrol uses a combined 10.4 litre per 100/km (3.0-litre V6 11.8 litres) and produces 244 g/100 km of CO2 (3.0-litre 277).

The new Mazda Tribute also has a stainless steel exhaust manifold, which helps lower emissions, and a new close-coupled catalyst structure, which ensures quick catalytic heat up. An electric vapour-management fuel system minimizes fuel evaporation into the outside air as well. As a result, the 2.3-litre MZR achieves a Euro IV emission ranking (the 3.0-litre V6 engine Euro Stage III/D4).