Is it a car is it a truck?
The Santa Cruz has a unique design and is an eye catcher. A number of people have commented its appearance. Its rides is a comfortable balance between a SUV and a Truck and it functions well as a second vehicle.
It seems to be well built and is quite capable of pulling a small trailer. I have found it serves well for my needs including the capacity of payload. I have used it to help move, to haul lawn waste, building materials including 23 sheets of plywood ( probable a little much but it handled it ).
After market items are readily available including trailer hitch and colorful decals to highlight tailgate.
I have three or four things that need to be addressed in newer models.
1. getting in and out of drivers seat can be difficult because of how low roof support is. Some of this problem can be eliminated by lowering seat but this something of a pain if you have to get in and out frequently.
2. I find fuel milage to be disappointing. I get an average of 22 MPG, compared to a Ford F150 that gets 24 MPG it seems this truck could do better.
3. The transmtion has also been a disappointment. Our other vehicle (a SUV of comparable size) has a CVT transmition that is almost unnoticeable on steep hills or in the mountains. In addition the SUV gets an average of 30 MPG .
4. lastly getting in and out of back seat is also difficult