What you see is what you get
Toyota Rav 4
Commission as many reports on tourism as you want, and pay as much of the taxpayer's cash to get them as you want, but the recipe for success in the industry remains the same: offer people something that attracts them, at the right price, and then ensure their expectations are met when they come here.
If there's a ring of elementary my dear ministers about this, it's because it takes little more than the intellect of a five-year-old child to work it out. Yet all too often it's the destructive element of a five-year-old that comes to the fore in this little and potentially beautiful land.
Take diving. It's a stated objective by the tourism authorities that diving is being promoted as a niche market, which is marketing talk for making more money. The raw material is in place: there's sea, a pretty essential requirement; the sea is as crystal clear as just about anywhere you find on earth; the authorities have taken the trouble to create artificial reefs; and the weather conditions are such that you can take a dip pretty much all year round.
All this is laid out quite nicely in the brochures, and invariably you'll see a picture of the blue hole in Gozo to go with it. So far so good. And all this beauty does exist. But then things crop up that the diving tourist didn't expect. Like the net they get tangled in when they're trying to admire a wreck; like the hook that gets caught in their backside, or somewhere even worse; like the fish that were there till just a few hours ago but had since found a new vocation as an overpriced tourist lunch; like construction - not only where divers are trying to get a good night's sleep for the next morning's dive, but also close to certain dive sites.
Yet there is a place that has designated areas where people can't build; where people can't fish; in fact where people can't do anything at all but dive. No, it's not heaven and unfortunately certainly not Malta; but Egypt. Sure, the Egyptians have among the best raw material in the world under their red sea that's actually blue, but they have gone to great lengths to protect it. The result is that thousands of people go there, like I did last week, to enjoy the experience, and instantly forget about the potentially annoying things - like pesky shopowners - that might otherwise put them off.
I suggest that our dear ministers and tourism officials should go there too, since they might learn what a five-year-old knows already. Or they could do something that would be kinder to the taxpayer, and test drive a Toyota Rav 4. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Egyptian officials all drive Toyotas, since the Japanese car-maker has made a successful art of the principle of meeting expectations for years.
For a start, no matter what you do to a Toyota engine, it just won't stop. This means that the Rav 4's 2.2 litre turbo diesel will probably last longer than you will. And it's a willing friend, if a slightly talkative one with the window down, to have for a lifetime. Zero to 60 mph in 10.5 seconds won't make you feel like you're in a racing car, but it is more than good enough to take you anywhere you want to go on time. It's ability to twist and turn is quite exceptional for this kind of vehicle and its ability to deliver 43mpg means that you'll rarely have to stop at the fuel station on your way.
As is customary with Japanese cars, the list of extras even on the entry-level model is longer than your mother-in-law's supermarket shopping list. Alloy wheels, alarm, colour coding, a million air bags and an MP3 player are all standard. But instead of a metal trolley, you'll get five well upholstered seats to take you round that easily compete with other compact 4X4s that cost much more. Meanwhile, boot space in the new Rav 4 has been increased by almost 50 per cent and is now big enough, once you fold the seats down, to accommodate a small farm.
Of course, there were things that I wasn't so keen on much in the same way that I didn't like Egyptian shopkeepers. Some of the plastics have a brittle feel, the steering wheel is bland and thin, while the door to access the boot opens in the strangest and most unpractical way imaginable. Visibility around its pillars is also little restricted and I never got the impression that the Rav 4 would excite me.
But it is easy to forgive the car for these shortcomings. Not just because it will manage to meet the expectations of a typical Toyota driver - a man or woman that wants comfort and reliability above anything else - but also because of its price. The Rav 4 that I drove costs less than Lm18,000, which is about Lm6,000 less than certain other quality 4X4s, with similar specification, in this compact class.
And that's why Toyota will sell quite a few of them: because they are meeting expectations without relieving their customers of all the contents of their wallets. Drivers who are prepared to break the bank could go for a luxury car brand that would be the Maldives or Great Barrier Reef of the diving fraternity, and be perfectly happy. But they will go in greater numbers, and more often, to the Sharm El Sheiks of this world. Malta has a lot to learn from Toyota.
The bare facts
Model: 2.2 XT3
Engine types: 2.0i, 2.2TD
Power: 134bhp at 3,600rpm
Torque: 228lb ft at 2,800 rpm
Transmission: Six-speed manual/automatic
Fuel: 42.8 mpg (combined cycle)
Acceleration 0-60mph: 10.5 seconds
Price: Lm15,795
For: Good value
Against: Awkward tailgate
Rating: 4 stars
If there's a ring of elementary my dear ministers about this, it's because it takes little more than the intellect of a five-year-old child to work it out. Yet all too often it's the destructive element of a five-year-old that comes to the fore in this little and potentially beautiful land.
Take diving. It's a stated objective by the tourism authorities that diving is being promoted as a niche market, which is marketing talk for making more money. The raw material is in place: there's sea, a pretty essential requirement; the sea is as crystal clear as just about anywhere you find on earth; the authorities have taken the trouble to create artificial reefs; and the weather conditions are such that you can take a dip pretty much all year round.
All this is laid out quite nicely in the brochures, and invariably you'll see a picture of the blue hole in Gozo to go with it. So far so good. And all this beauty does exist. But then things crop up that the diving tourist didn't expect. Like the net they get tangled in when they're trying to admire a wreck; like the hook that gets caught in their backside, or somewhere even worse; like the fish that were there till just a few hours ago but had since found a new vocation as an overpriced tourist lunch; like construction - not only where divers are trying to get a good night's sleep for the next morning's dive, but also close to certain dive sites.
Yet there is a place that has designated areas where people can't build; where people can't fish; in fact where people can't do anything at all but dive. No, it's not heaven and unfortunately certainly not Malta; but Egypt. Sure, the Egyptians have among the best raw material in the world under their red sea that's actually blue, but they have gone to great lengths to protect it. The result is that thousands of people go there, like I did last week, to enjoy the experience, and instantly forget about the potentially annoying things - like pesky shopowners - that might otherwise put them off.
I suggest that our dear ministers and tourism officials should go there too, since they might learn what a five-year-old knows already. Or they could do something that would be kinder to the taxpayer, and test drive a Toyota Rav 4. I wouldn't be at all surprised if Egyptian officials all drive Toyotas, since the Japanese car-maker has made a successful art of the principle of meeting expectations for years.
For a start, no matter what you do to a Toyota engine, it just won't stop. This means that the Rav 4's 2.2 litre turbo diesel will probably last longer than you will. And it's a willing friend, if a slightly talkative one with the window down, to have for a lifetime. Zero to 60 mph in 10.5 seconds won't make you feel like you're in a racing car, but it is more than good enough to take you anywhere you want to go on time. It's ability to twist and turn is quite exceptional for this kind of vehicle and its ability to deliver 43mpg means that you'll rarely have to stop at the fuel station on your way.
As is customary with Japanese cars, the list of extras even on the entry-level model is longer than your mother-in-law's supermarket shopping list. Alloy wheels, alarm, colour coding, a million air bags and an MP3 player are all standard. But instead of a metal trolley, you'll get five well upholstered seats to take you round that easily compete with other compact 4X4s that cost much more. Meanwhile, boot space in the new Rav 4 has been increased by almost 50 per cent and is now big enough, once you fold the seats down, to accommodate a small farm.
Of course, there were things that I wasn't so keen on much in the same way that I didn't like Egyptian shopkeepers. Some of the plastics have a brittle feel, the steering wheel is bland and thin, while the door to access the boot opens in the strangest and most unpractical way imaginable. Visibility around its pillars is also little restricted and I never got the impression that the Rav 4 would excite me.
But it is easy to forgive the car for these shortcomings. Not just because it will manage to meet the expectations of a typical Toyota driver - a man or woman that wants comfort and reliability above anything else - but also because of its price. The Rav 4 that I drove costs less than Lm18,000, which is about Lm6,000 less than certain other quality 4X4s, with similar specification, in this compact class.
And that's why Toyota will sell quite a few of them: because they are meeting expectations without relieving their customers of all the contents of their wallets. Drivers who are prepared to break the bank could go for a luxury car brand that would be the Maldives or Great Barrier Reef of the diving fraternity, and be perfectly happy. But they will go in greater numbers, and more often, to the Sharm El Sheiks of this world. Malta has a lot to learn from Toyota.
The bare facts
Model: 2.2 XT3
Engine types: 2.0i, 2.2TD
Power: 134bhp at 3,600rpm
Torque: 228lb ft at 2,800 rpm
Transmission: Six-speed manual/automatic
Fuel: 42.8 mpg (combined cycle)
Acceleration 0-60mph: 10.5 seconds
Price: Lm15,795
For: Good value
Against: Awkward tailgate
Rating: 4 stars