THE ROVING EYE.

WITH the possible exception of the sturdy-but-dowdy Volvo, it might have seemed that station wagons were a vanishing breed on Los Angeles streets and freeways.

First, they were endangered by the minivan, and then by the SUV as the preferred mode of transportation for soccer moms and other suburbanites who need lots of space to haul kids, dogs and groceries around town.

Well, look again, because a new breed of snappy and sporty station wagons has started to show up and could be ready to make up some lost ground.

High-end European car manufacturers -- Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Saab and Volkswagen -- have all come out with new lines of station wagons in recent months, and they are proving to be quite popular with the well-heeled crowd looking for something more sophisticated than a Chevy Suburban or Ford Explorer.

"The word is getting out that you can have the benefit of more room without having to drive a truck," said Craig Sanders, general sales manager with Pacific Audi in Hermosa Beach. "There are plenty of people who prefer the feel and the handling of a sedan over that of an SUV."

What's more, with the highly publicized safety problems of some SUV models, and their reputation for being gas guzzlers, some drivers might find the new station wagons an attractive alternative.

And it's women who make up the majority of station wagon buyers, according to Sanders, with roughly two out of three new station wagons sold being driven primarily by women.