Manufacturer cannot fix "Simple" issue
Overall, the Santa Cruz is the answer to a question nobody asked, until the answer was put right in front of them.
A sensibly sized pickup truck is something that the car community joked for years would never happen again. All vehicles with a "bed" would be comically small imports from the 90s or modern over-engineered and oversized LEGO bricks that exist only to suck oil right from the well in droves.
Enter the Santa Cruz, a pickup truck for humans.
Besides the exterior styling that came straight from Mars, a vehicle with space for 5 adults, that also has space for all your camping equipment, a towing capacity to tug along a pontoon boat, and plenty of aftermarket support already, all in a package the same length as a Camry with better offroad capabilities than most new Subarus? That's nothing to sneeze at.
The SEL trim comes with more than enough driver assists than should be necessary, but not so many that you'll want to rip your hair out every time you need to change a setting or dare to try to zipper into a 2 into 1 lane.
The AWD system and 8 speed automatic transmission make the most of the 191 horsepower engine under the hood. You won't be winning any races, but if you were really trying for that, you would've bought an Elantra N instead. This powertrain provides plenty enough pull for the average joe going to work, or the family going on a weekend camping trip out of town. Just learn to drive like a person and not a maniac and you'll be served fine without a turbocharger.
Interior comfort is unparalleled by even Toyota or Honda, for the price point. AC that actually blows cold, the fastest front and rear windshield defrosts I've seen on an SUV/Pickup Truck, and 3 stage heated front seats certainly came as a surprise for me when I was researching the SEL trim over the SE. Though not the goodies that sealed the deal for me, they're absolutely nice pluses.
So, I love it. Why 1 star?
I've been having the same defect with it for 6 of the 12 months I've owned it and after 4 repair attempts and about 2 and a half of those months of the vehicle being completely out of service, I just can't recommend anyone buy it. When it works, it works. When it doesn't, it'll haunt you and send a feeling of dread into your soul, knowing if you have a 30 year old Civic, it probably won't have half the road noise due to wear and old age that this thing makes due to a defect.
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