I've driven around all of Maui at various points and didn't find it to be bad at all. Yeah the Kapalua -> Kahului and Hana -> Kula routes aren't the greatest, but I never felt like I was ever in any danger of crashing or getting stuck. They're windy and slow going, but nothing the crappy economy car I usually rent can't handle. Though maybe that's the trick; I never found traction to be an issue so having a larger SUV might actually be counterproductive on the really narrow roads.
Granted they're not the kinds of roads you'd want to take potentially car sick kids on or anything, but I was actually pleasantly surprised after reading how people described them. And the scenery, especially between Hana and Kula, is amazing.
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