I picked up a Cafe Racer 164 recently. Not quite 100% in love with it, but I'm liking it a lot and having a lot of fun on it. As I understand it, the second generation Koruas were built in a different factory and they now have full-wrap edges. I've heard the first gens were garbage, but I like mine. I wouldn't call it premium construction or finish, but seems reasonably given the relatively lower pricepoint.
Preface that I don't hard boot, so I probably have different expectations of a "carving" board from many on here. Most of my season so far was spend on pretty aggressive all-mountain freeride boards, the United Shapes Orbit and the Dupraz D1 6'0" Plus (my "sendy" boards). Few days on Moss Snowsticks, the Wingswallow 149 (since sold) and Swallow 162.
CR feels like a pretty good hybrid between a traditional snowboard and a more Japanese snowsurf ride. It's relatively rear-foot driven and the engagement of the front contact point is further back than I initially expected. I had a similar sensation the first time I rode a Moss U5.
Carves quite nicely. Very neutral feeling turn, which was jarring at first. It doesn't power into the next turn like most Western carving/freeride boards I've ridden, or flow into it like a Japanese snowsurf. You can CREATE pop or flow, but the board waits for rider input. I was ambivalent about it at first, but actually really like the feel after spending 4 days on the board.
At 278 mm waist, it's the widest non-volume displacement board I've ever ridden. It's wider than a I need, I only have size 10 boots at the moment (and typically max out at 10.5). That waist sucks at slow speeds... skating is a pain and it started to feel pretty unwieldy when I started running out of steep on an icy cat track. But as long as I give it even moderate speed, say 15 mph, I'm fine. Waist is also a liability in firm bumps and varaible terrain. Manageable, but I definitely feel impacts resonate up my legs more and need to be more on top of my riding. Plus side, I will never boot out. If I could reshape the board, I'd probably give it more like a 265 waist and it'd be a decent daily driver candidate for me.
Quite playful. I was actually surprised at how playful it is given it's a full camber deck and rated at 7/10 stiffness. I'd call it more like a 6, personally. Pretty easy for me to press and ollie even right out of the plastic (or almost, I am the second owner but first owner only put 1 day on it... first time I hand flexed it, I still felt and heard fiberglass breaking in). I huck a lot of sidehits on it and don't worry too much about being "on". Pretty relaxing ride. I don't need to be nearly as on point on landings or line selection as as my "sendy" boards, and it's much less physically taxing to ride than those boards (and punishes user error less).
Doesn't hold up the best at high speeds. I touched ~45 mph once, which is usually well in my comfort zone, and wouldn't want to go much faster than that. But I generally don't go 45+ unless I want to, so that's a manageable limitation.
I enjoy the CR a lot, but am skeptical whether it's an everyday board for me because of the waist. If it was a hair narrower and a hair stiffer, I think it'd be my daily driver. But I'm having a lot of fun on it regardless.
As an aside, love the plain graphic and the general philosophy of not swapping out new models every year and only doing a refresh every several seasons. Plus side, the plain white top sheet is easy to sticker up, so I'll customize the graphic to my liking.