Say the name "Saab," and the image of quirky, fun and engaging automobiles comes to mind.

For the most part, that image is accurate when you drive the 2008 Saab 9-3 Aero SportCombi.

It's part of a breed of cars known as sport wagons -- station wagons with high-performance engines, ground effects street racer type styling and roomy interiors with body hugging seats and cockpit style dashboards.

Our test model has a base price of $35,520, with standard equipment that includes a 2.8-liter, 255-horsepower turbocharged engine, sports tuned suspension, power rack and pinion steering, driver and front passenger torso side air bags, side curtain air bags for front and rear passengers, anti-lock brakes and cornering brake control electronic stability program, leather sports seats and full power accessories among other things.

Options included an automatic transmission, the Nocturne Blue Metallic paint, a touring package, heated front seats and other items. All of that brought the as-tested price to $39,610.

Mileage is rated at 15 mpg in the city and 24 on the highway, and the annual fuel cost is estimated at $2,502 based on 15,000 miles at $3.00 a gallon.

Saab's "go my own way" style has been one of the things that endears it to people, and the 2008 continues that, even though the company was taken over several years ago by General Motors.

GM wisely has maintained the "Saabness" of the car with a floor-mounted ignition, a dashboard with stylistic fittings and design elements that harken to the Saabs of old, and two-toned interior themes that have been a Saab trademark throughout the years.

In terms of driving feel, it certainly does not feel like other GM cars. It feels European, nimble, light on its feet and thoroughly agile. Saab has an aviation history behind it, and that's reflected in the styling. The new front end of the car has a deeply aggressive look about it, and some of the design elements you see in the grille do prompt thoughts of a jet taking off.

It's even carried over to the interior, where the steering wheel has two slender silver trim pieces that, against the black background of the steering wheel, look like the control arms for a jet.

I found this car to be a blast on the highway, thanks to the turbocharger, which is one of the best in the business in smoothness and not giving you a sudden jolt when it kicks into action. The sport suspension setup resulted in a car that had quite agile handling.

Inside, I noticed that Saab redesigned the interior with new infotainment systems and automatic climate control -- and the placement of those controls made sense. There was no more grabbing for the climate control dials and hitting the radio instead. There's also a switch you can use to convert the instruments to a night setting, which meant that all but the speedometer gauges disappear. A nice touch.

But what's with the flimsy cup holder built into the dash? My cup almost fell through the holder completely. In fact, I was put off by the amount of plastic in the dashboard. It looked cheap, and that's an issue you shouldn't have with a car costing almost $40,000.

The seats were comfortable, but I could have used some more support around my thighs and shoulders. There were a few more minor jarring notes for me with the SportCombi, such as the tinny sounds of the door locks and the turn signal.

I also disliked the amount of groping, pushing and pulling I had to endure to get the rear hatch door to open.

But despite those small niggles, driving the Saab 9-3 Aero SportCombi was a turbocharged treat.