twain

For probably too long, my favorite car has been the 2000-2004 A6 4.2. The luxury, power, stance, looks just tick all the right boxes. I also ride bikes a lot so having the flip down seats is key. However, the A6 has enough space to fit your bike (wheels off) with the seats up if you are in a shady neighbor hood.
For background, I'm an Audi addict and have had an '86 Coupe, '89 200 QTW, 98 QTW and splurged in 2000 for a Ming Blue A6 4.2 with Vanilla interior. Drove it in to the ground; 178k miles over 12 years. It got really expensive the last 2 years (replaced cats and transmission). Paint was starting to oxidize badly on the roof and the upholstery was tearing. Sold it to my mechanic for $2250 in 2012; his wife loves it and he got the top repainted and seat redone.
Miraculously, there was a nearly identical 2001 Ming Blue with beige leather and sports suspension at the local dealer. Walked in and bought it on the spot for $10k (63k miles). Fast forward to now and that 18 year old car is feeling pretty old. Seats ripped, it's still tape-deck/CD player tech, paint horribly fading on the roof (that said other panels will shine right up; amazing). So what to buy?
For years I've been thinking about a used RS6 but the relocation of the battery in the trunk with that huge dome just kills the utility.

So recent consideration has been the A5 Sportback or VW Arteon. The Sportback looks fantastic IMO. The Arteon would likely have more space for the bike and less expensive but pretty similar car. Unfortunately, not available until September. So what about the Sportback? I went down to the dealer with the bike in my trunk. The A5 Sportback was too racy for me. Harder to get in to, seats felt overly bolstered and the throttle response wasn't great. The deal killer? The bike wouldn't fit in the trunk. ~1 inch off. So I threw it in to the A4. No dice.
Ok, let's try the A6. Bingo, just like my old car, it still works.

The C7 A6 doesn't thrill me visually as much as the older one but the facelift 2016 S-Line model with the sweet wheels is pretty darn good. So I targeted a 3.0T, S-line, Blue. Found one for ~38k. The catch? There is a frigging outstanding recall with the fuel rails - and there is "no known remedy at this time". Are you kidding me?
Ironically this might have been good luck, though, because my wife was threatening divorce "if you get another one of those Fing Blue Audis! You are so boring".

Well what A6 looks badass, has power and handling but is such a sleeper that even the wife won't know? And can fit a bike in the trunk with wheels off?
The 2016 S6 with S-line and 20's. "Tornado Grey Metallic" actually looks damn good - and the wife signed off on it! Got it with 32k miles/$46.5k. (did the extended Red Line warranty - I hope that's not a rip off).

Absolutely amazing car - though I wonder if this baby will last 10 years or if maintenance will just kill me. The dual personality of this car is pretty much unmatched though.