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Admittedly, the term itself makes no sense to most people. It seems to date to the late 1920s or early 1930s, when automakers starting building flat-roofed vehicles with large cargo compartments primarily for taxi services to shuttle train passengers to and from their homes or hotels.

Initially called "depot hacks," "carryalls" or "suburbans," they ultimately evolved into station wagons.

That name stuck until the 1990s, when it somehow became synonymous with something unhip. Station wagons disappeared around the same time sport utility vehicles began to proliferate.

Talk about stupid names! I still can´t figure out how a station wagon body plopped on a four-wheel drive truck frame qualifies as a "sport" anything.

In any case, the automaker marketing mavens apparently decided that station wagons weren´t cool and so they stopped using the term. A few "sport wagons" survived the sales-and-marketing extinction process, but even companies such as Subaru and Volvo -- which built their impressive reputations on station wagons -- treat the term like it belongs on the late comic George Carlin´s list of five words you can´t say on TV.

Take, for example, the subject of this week´s review, a 2009 Volvo XC70 T6. It´s a station wagon if I´ve ever seen one -- and a great one at that. But for some reason, Volvo seems ashamed to call it that.

Instead, those wily Swedes from Gothenburg call the XC70 a "segment-defining" crossover -- an "XC70 concept."

But not a station wagon.

Frankly, I don´t understand it. Volvo is missing a golden marketing opportunity; a chance to distinguish itself from its competitors by calling the XC70 what it is.

They should emblazon it in large, black letters on the shapely and muscular flanks of this roomy and rugged four-door station wagon.

Or pay Abba (the fourth-most popular Swedish export behind Volvo, little red fish and meatballs in cream sauce) to write a song declaring the XC70 a station wagon. The song´s chorus could proclaim the practicality of such flat-roof, square-shouldered vehicles.

Being a true station wagon enables the XC70 to comfortably accommodate five Swedish-size adults while providing enough cargo capacity to supply Stockholm with enough meatballs and candy fish for a year.

Dump three of those passengers, fold the second-row seatbacks (a nearly effortless act in the XC70), and you´ve got enough room for the booty collected during an IKEA shopping spree.

That is the beauty of big station wagons such as the XC70, whose versatility is ratcheted up by a 40/20/40 split rear seatback. That means it is great not only for American traditions such as trips to Home Depot, but also for a day of cross country skiing with Elsa, Maja, Erik and Arvid.

Try getting those four and their skis in a typical sedan -- or even most SUVs. And reaching a Nordic ski center in the XC70 is no sweat, either, thanks to its standard all-wheel drive.

It has 8.3 inches of ground clearance, too, according to Volvo. I never would have known that without scanning the spec sheet because unlike many SUVs with that kind of stature, the XC70 doesn´t feel the least bit tipsy or top-heavy.

Just the opposite. The XC70 feels well-grounded whether cruising 75 mph on the highway or darting around curves in the country. Its steering is a quantum leap above truck-based SUVs in terms of precision and predictability.

Steering feel and feedback also are good enough to convince the driver he/she is behind the wheel of a sport touring sedan rather than such a capable cargo- and people-mover.

The XC70 moves rather rapidly in the T6 trim level of our test car, which is new for the 2009 model year.

The biggest difference between the T6 and the entry level 3.2 model is found under the hood. The T6 gets a turbocharged 3.0-liter, in-line turbocharged six-cylinder engine that despite being a smaller displacement than its non-turbocharged counterpart, musters 46 more horsepower and 59 more pounds-feet of torque.

That´s good enough to make it about a second quicker than the 3.2 from zero to 60 mph. And because maximum torque is available at just 1,500 rpm, the XC70 T6 feels strong even when it´s not being run at full throttle.

There are many other qualities that make the XC70 T6 endearing, ranging from its long list of active and passive safety features to its equally extensive collection of creature comfort features.

About the only thing the XC70 T6 is missing from my perspective is better fuel economy and available third-row seating. And, of course, the term "station wagon" somewhere in its name.

Scott Wasser is executive editor of MaineToday Media. He writes a weekly auto column for the Press Herald and The Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) Times Leader. He can be contacted at

swasser@pressherald.com

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