I spent the recent long weekend on a sunny island, two hours away from our sodding wet one.

Out here on the tropical island with beautiful beaches and horribly scarred roads, the Toyota Kijang Innova is, quite possibly, the best car. In fact, it really reminds me of the Rolls-Royce Phantom.

I think few in the world can claim to have been ferried in both the Rolls and the Kijang.

I have, so you may just have to take my word for it.

The Phantom is a very deliberate car. Besides being deliberately expensive, it's engineered specifically for the purpose of making its passengers comfortable. It's not a car for business but for leisure. By design, the limousine is made to be a cushy car with absolutely no sporting pretensions. To throw it into a corner like in a "sports saloon" will be grossly missing the point.

Few cars have such clarity of focus. Saloons are guilty of sticking "sport" prefixes all the time, whether in the form of a garish spoiler or a red insignia brandishing so. MPVs are also famously known for having delusions of sporty handling when their sole purpose (there's irony there) is to ferry people in comfort.

And we come to the king of Bali, the Kijang Innova. The multi-seater is one of a trinity of models from Toyota's Asean specific platform, the Innova doesn't pretend to be a sporty pick-up like the Hilux Vigo or an active SUV like the Fortuner.

In Bali, the Kijang is almost exclusively used by hotels and villas to shuttle their leisure-seeking guests. Like with the Rolls, the best seats in the house, I mean car, is anything but the driver's seat. Legroom is plentiful as is the glass area to watch the world with.

The ride is so soft that the pockmarked roads have no effect on the cabin. The air-con is cold with a separate blower blasting the rear quarters so it's more than capable to keep the tropical heat at bay. Performance from its petrol engine is "adequate" rather than blistering, just as Rolls-Royce have always avoided mentions about the exact outputs and capabilities of its 6.75-litre V12.

Most of all, seated in the Kijang, with silly beach shorts and self-conscious shades, is an utterly relaxing affair. The sensation, if not the attire, will not be alien to the privileged Rolls-Royce owner for sure.

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