2015 Car of the Year Finalist: Audi's incredible S3 sports sedan

Editorial note: Business Insider just named its 2015 Car of the Year, the Volvo XC90. This weekend, we're re-running out reviews of the five cars that almost beat out the Volvo for the honor.

Audi's S3 sports sedan is a stylish, modern, and exhilarating reminder of the automaker's performance heritage.

In recent years, Audi has reclaimed its place in the pantheon of automotive luxury greatness, alongside Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus. So it's easy to forget Audi's rally-racing heritage. During the early 1980s, the company and its revolutionary Quattro all-wheel-drive system barnstormed the world of off-road speed contests.

With the S3, Audi has returned to the formula that made the company so successful executing power slides on courses carved from dirt while also appealing to upscale customers. To succeed with the non-racing public, you take a small but powerful engine, add the grip of Quattro all-wheel-drive, and then wrap the whole thing up in a stylish, lightweight package.

Business Insider spent a weekend behind the wheel of an S3 adorned with a resplendent Misano Red paint job. Here's what we thought.