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My Dubai Car: From real estate success to road trips, Russian expat shares her BMW X6 adventures

UAE resident on her favourite ride

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Photos: Rahul Gajjar/KT

By George Kuruvilla

Published: Fri 22 Mar 2024, 6:00 AM

Name: Ekaterina Yudina

Ride: 2019 BMW X6

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Nationality: Russian

Profession: General Manager

In Dubai since: 2013

Ekaterina is yet another young and enterprising individual who is riding the wave of success in Dubai’s booming real estate business. She is all praise for this city where she drives the ‘streamlined’ X6. Here’s an excerpt from her thoughts on the city and her car:

When did you move to Dubai and what do you like most about this city?

I moved to Dubai more than 10 years ago and instantly fell in love with the city. It has beaches. It’s clean. It’s beautifully designed with a lot of skyscrapers and greenery. It’s safe. The weather is perfect nine months of the year. These things make it an ideal place to live. The people here are friendly, smiling, genuinely kind and honest. I believe, there are not many places on earth where a girl can walk alone at night and feel safe. It is a place where I want to raise my daughter.

What do you do for work and how do you spend your days?

Initially, I helped my husband with opening a Dubai branch of his digital marketing agency (www.beontop.ae) and also worked as a model for a few years. Eventually my friends led me to my current occupation i.e., being a real estate broker. Later, I became the general manager of an agency called Urban Vista Real Estate. (www.urbanvista.ae). This profession gives me an opportunity to meet new people and share my love of Dubai and the UAE with them.

What kind of car-related activities do you enjoy?

I love to drive. It helps with my job, which includes showing my clients various Dubai communities, properties and new projects. I also enjoy going to the desert for a safari or a barbeque. Once in a while, our family friends and I do a road trip to Oman to enjoy a green season in Salalah with its wadi and waterfalls or the cooler weather of the Omani mountains. We have gone to Musandam, just two and a half hours’ drive from Dubai to see dolphins and awesome fiords. Driving to Abu Dhabi is fun too.

How did you decide on the BMW X6?

When I saw BMW X6 for the first time, I fell in love with the design. It stood out from all other vehicles on the road with its streamlined design, the first of its kind. It was my first dream car. And when we took one out for a test drive, it was clear that the quality of the interior matched the beauty of the exterior design. Also, the seats are very comfortable, it’s very quiet and there are no extraneous sounds.

What do you like most about your X6 and what could be improved?

The most important thing — for the four years that we have owned it — is that it hasn’t broke down even once. It is very spacious and has comfortable seats. During long drives, the soft suspension and cruise control help a lot. I love the quality of the materials too.

If something could be improved, it could be the manoeuverability. The X6 is quite big, and it needs to be reversed sometimes to make a U-turn on a one lane road.

What does your car mean to you?

I feel quite limited when I can’t drive (when the car is in for service or there is traffic). It is a part of my life, like my smartphone or my laptop; without it my life would have a different tempo and schedule. I can drive my daughter to gymnastics and art classes and spend some more time with my family instead of spending this time waiting for a bus or a metro. Also, driving is a time to relax and listen to music and to enjoy a scenery and nature.

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If money were no object what car or SUV would you have in your garage? Where would you like to drive it?

Nowadays, I really like Bentley Bentayga, as I’ve always preferred SUVs to sedans. The Bentley is classy and embodies elegance for me. This is a vehicle I would like to use on a regular basis to drive to my office, to give rides to my clients and my daughter.

Although there is a part of me that would like to drive fast time to time and for that reason, I wouldn’t mind getting a sports car, like a Lamborghini Revuelto. It is perfection in terms of design and quality, among sport cars and sedans. It is not an everyday car, but I wouldn’t mind using it for a long-distance drive for a staycation or a short drive to a restaurant in Dubai.

wknd@khaleejtimes.com

George Kuruvilla

Published: Fri 22 Mar 2024, 6:00 AM

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