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Two's company: The draw of a beemer

Ahmad Fouad tells Jonathan Castle why he needed a BMW 118i despite owning a Porsche Cayenne.

  • By Jonathan Castle, Contributor, ANM
  • Published: 00:00 October 23, 2009
  • Wheels

  • Ahmad finds his agile little beemer a perfect foil for the imposing Cayenne
  • Image Credit: Silvia Baron

That's the start of a nice little fleet. Why do you need two cars?

I've been in Dubai for four years now, and am originally from Egypt. I live here, and work in Abu Dhabi. That means a lot of driving every day. And during weekends I like to go out to the desert. Hence the need for two cars.

Tell us more about the cars.

Well, my first car is the Porsche Cayenne. It's a 2008 model, bought brand new. I like the Cayenne because it's an off-roader and a sports car in one. It offers you all the comfort and features of a luxury car, but with a flick of the sport button, you can change its character completely. The BMW is my city car. It's a 118i 2009 model, in red, which was also bought new. You know how hard it is to find parking in the city and my Beemer is obviously easier to park than the Cayenne.

That doesn't mean I use it only in the city; it's a great car on the highway and is very stable at high speeds.

Have you made any modifications?

Not many, though I made sure the BMW has 16in alloys for more stability. The Cayenne is still standard, exactly as it came from the agency, because I had ticked all possible options when I bought it.

I use the Cayenne on the long highways and big drives, and of course for off roading. It is as good a car for dune bashing as it is for highway cruising. I take it out every weekend. But

my Beemer, with its high performance 2.0-litre engine, is definitely more fun to drive, so some days I take it to work as well.

And your dream car?

My dream car is the Porsche 911 Turbo — I don't think there's any other car to match it in performance. I'm looking forward to joining the Porsche Club in Dubai. And hopefully, sometime soon I'll get to my dream.

Bio

  • Name: Ahmad Fouad
  • Job: Mechanical engineer
  • From: Egypt
  • Wheels: 2008 Porsche Cayenne and 2009 BMW 118i
  • In Dubai: Four years
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  • Average reader rating (5 votes) 4 Stars
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