REFORMED IN GENEVA; The 9-3 SportCombi lifts the veil from Saab's dark ages.

Byline: MATT DAVIS

One truth: Saab is no longer exclusively Scandinavian, so blue-faced naysayers might as well stop yammering. Whereas 9-3 Sport Sedans and all 9-5s are still built in Trollhattan, the 9-3 Convertible is sent out from Graz, Austria, the 9-2X is from Ohta, Japan, and we will be getting our 9-7Xs starting in late April from Moraine, Ohio.

Another truth: Neither big and tall SUVs nor their vocal critics will be going away anytime soon. What is happening is a gradual return of the station-wagon lifestyle. Small, midsize and large wagon segments are finding at least one new offering in the North American market per year. So we figure by 2015, people ought to be complaining about the menace of too many wagons on American roads.

Conjectural irony aside, the oft-delayed Saab 9-3 SportCombi, being shown at Geneva, looks to be a trendsetter in this budding new-old segment. What's new about modern-day wagons is that they need to be premium, especially the interiors, in order to convince as many would-be SUV buyers as possible.

The segment is already hot in Europe, and Saab hopes to help lead anticipated growth in the United States, where the 9-3 SportCombi will join the 9-2X in showrooms in November.

Using the same "Epsilon premium'' architecture as the 9-3 Sedan and Convertible, the SportCombi looks familiar back to the A-pillar. Then it's a whole new ballgame. Maintaining much of the cool Scandinavian feel of the 9-3 Sport Hatch concept from Frankfurt 2003, the designers hope to convey a "hewn from solid'' stance. (Note: 9-3 Sport Hatch design was by Michael Mauer and Anthony Lo, two non-Scandinavians.)

In the global sense, the amazing news is that in Europe the SportCombi will be launched with no fewer than eight engine choices-six gas and two diesel. Talk about a reawakening Saab ready to hunt bear.