Hard-core aficionados were aghast. It was the early 1990s, and General Motors had just bought half of Saab. One of the more interesting vehicles on the market, they argued, would be mainstreamed and neutered by the world’s largest car manufacturer. The Swedish manufacturer would become just another Oldsmobile, indistinguishable from its stablemates and just as unexciting as the rest of GM’s lineup.

Despite their fears, however, Saab has benefitted from its relationship with the General. True, it may not be quite as idiosyncratic as before, but pre–GM Saabs weren’t that great on quality control and reliability. I can remember driving a 1990 900 Turbo SPG that I absolutely loved but that literally had parts falling off it. And it leaked like a sieve in the rain. Also, Saab was losing big money at the time of the merger, and it’s debatable whether or not it would have survived without GM’s intervention.

A good example of the new, improved Saab is the 9-3 series, which comes as a sedan, convertible, or station wagon. I recently spent time with the wagon, which is available with either a four-cylinder or V6 engine. Both are turbocharged, and my test car, the 9-3 SportCombi, is powered by a two-litre four-cylinder that develops 210 horsepower. The V6 version is much the same but is tagged as the Aero.

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: six-speed manual

Drive: front-wheel drive

Horsepower: 210 horsepower at 5,500 rpm

Torque: 221 foot-pounds at 2,500 rpm

Base Price: $36,635; $42,355 as tested

Fuel Economy: 10.8 litres per 100 kilometres city; 7.1 litres per 100 kilometres highway

Recommended fuel: premium grade

Alternatives: Audi A4 Avant, Subaru Legacy 2.5, Mazda6 Sport Wagon, BMW 3 Series Touring, VW Passat Wagon

Positives: extremely drivable, excellent sense of balance, topflight interior ambiance, good rear storage, love that cup holder

Negatives: bupkis rear-seat legroom, nasty hand-brake design

In just about every respect, the SportCombi is still very much a Saab. It has the ignition key on the floor, those excellent aircraft-style flow-through heat/air-conditioning vents, topnotch instrumentation, and arguably the most comfortable front bucket seats in the industry. Although they weren’t the best-built cars on the road, the non–GM models were always entertaining to drive and that hasn’t changed. I looked forward to sliding behind the wheel of this car every chance I got, and were I in the market for a station wagon, it would be on my shortlist just for its comfort factor.

You can choose from either a six-speed manual or five-speed automatic transmission with the 9-3 SportCombi; my tester had the former, and as far as I’m concerned, it added to the car’s overall appeal. Gears are nicely spaced, linkage has just the right amount of feel, the clutch is smooth and linear. It may be a station wagon, but the 9-3 SportCombi has the heart of a sports car.

All is not perfection, however. Back-seat legroom is severely compromised if anyone even remotely tall sits up front. Push the front buckets back to the full extent of their travel, and there’s only room for munchkins in the rear. I also grew to dislike the hand-brake design on the 9-3. Aircraft-style, it folds down into a kind of grab-handle arrangement, and if you don’t pay attention, it’s amazingly easy to pinch your fingers—annoying.

On the other hand, storage room is more than decent; with the rear seats folded down, you’ll find 2,047 litres of space back there, accessed by a huge one-piece tailgate that unlocks remotely. By way of comparison, Subaru’s Legacy wagon offers 1,874 litres, and the Audi A4 Avant, 1,672 litres. Saab seems to have decided that carrying cargo is more important than accommodating large people in the back seat.

But I would still put up with that because, in my eyes, the 9-3 SportCombi has drivability, that elusive and very desirable quality, in abundance. The turbo boost is a lot more refined and better behaved than some earlier models I could name—the Viggen, for example—and the car has an excellent sense of balance. Brakes are four-wheel disc with ABS, and you won’t find better ones in this market.

The 9-3 SportCombi also has nice little touches like a turbo-boost gauge, handy little storage shelves under the radio, rotary-style temperature/ventilation controls, and one of the funkiest foldout cup holders I’ve seen. Who thinks of these things?

With a price tag starting at under $37,000, the SportCombi comes well-dressed. Leather interior, heated front seats, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, cruise control, climate control, MP3 jack, a cooled glove box, and wood trim are all part of the package. My car was also a 60th-anniversary edition, which commemorates Saab’s 60-year history in the car-making business, with special interior trim, rear parking sensors, special alloy wheels, and assorted other bits and pieces, all of which adds some $3,395 to the car’s base price.

In Europe, carmakers have a tradition of building lively, well-engineered wagons that can easily match their sedan counterparts when it comes to handling, performance, and drivability. Not so long ago, Volvo, another Swedish manufacturer taken over by a North American company, used to campaign one of its S40 wagons in various sedan racing events. Although Saab has yet to do so, it seems to have survived its amalgamation with General Motors nicely.