You like almost anything with wheels, right?
I absolutely love cars and motorcycles and I've owned both. In the US, I used to be part of the VW club, Miata club and Honda Racing Club (HRC, motorcycles) as well.
I pretty much never missed the annual auto show or the NOPI custom car and truck shows.
When I was younger, my father used to bring car magazines home and I would be amazed by some of the cars in them. My interest grew when I moved to the US from Pakistan and learnt to drive.
I went to local car shows and a few auctions and really began getting into the craze ofthe auto world. Oh, and the first-generationGran Turismo game helped as well!
Playstation rules! What type of cars in particular do you like and what attractsyou to them?
I especially like American muscle cars fromthe Sixties and Seventies and pretty muchany recent Italian or German supercars.I absolutely love the rumble from underneath the bonnets of these cars.
I'm also a fan of the Seventies Mini as it'sa lot of fun to drive.
Those were great indeed. Was your first car a Mini?
No, it was a Nineties Chrysler Acclaim. It wasn't much of a looker but it never failedme in the few years I had it.
Have you had any other interesting rides since that reliable Acclaim?
Yes, I got a 1994 Nissan 300ZX as a gift from my dad, I had a 1995 Mazda Miata, a 1979 Mini Cooper and a 2009 Harley Nightster.
My father bought a 1998 Mustang GT convertible for my sister and I drove that a lot. It's still running great and has had no major issues, even though it has close to 200,000km on the clock. That tells you a bit about American cars. Sceptics take note!
Right, on to your Golf R. You got a rather good deal on it, didn't you?
You get some pretty good offers during the month of Ramadan and sure enough, VW in Dubai had a great deal. All I did was make the down payment, get my loan sorted and pretty much everything else was thrown in with the already discounted price such as the insurance, registration, five years' unlimited mileage warranty, three years' service and even a thousand dirhams worth of fuel!
But, it took a while before you settled on a car you liked…
Choosing this wasn't a straightforward decision. I probably went and saw 50 different cars and test-drove a bunch before I decided on the Golf R.
I had some criteria in my mind — it had to have four doors, an automatic transmission so my wife could drive it as well and it would need space to fit the baby seat and stroller. The R ticked all the boxes.
What do you like best about it?
It is a great all-rounder. It boasts German build quality, it's economical, practical and blisteringly fast. The DSG transmission is just an absolute pleasure to use while the Haldex all-wheel drive keeps it planted on the road. It looks pretty good too!
I always look forward to driving my car to and from work, although I have yet to experience the curvy mountain roads in the northern emirates. It's an enjoyable ride on any road and that's really what motoring is all about, owning, driving and enjoying the best car your money can buy.
My wife doesn't really like small cars but with me pointing outa few impressive facts about it every day and giving her plenty ofrides, she's starting to warm up to it.
Do you have any plans to improve anything?
I have thoughts rather than plans at the moment. First thing is to change the exhaust and the air intake. And maybe in the future I'll put a bigger turbo on it to drop the 0-100km time down to the mid four seconds.
Finally, what is your dream car?
I have a few including a Sixties split window Corvette Stingray, a Ferrari 458 Italia and an Audi R8.
Bio
- Name Zia Shahid
- Job Project manager
- From Atlanta, US
- Wheels 2012 Volkswagen Golf R
- In the UAE Eight years
