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DALLAS – Women like crossover utility vehicles with luxury appointments, but not necessarily those big SUVs that appeal mostly to men.

To help give female consumers what they really want, Infiniti will introduce its first premium compact crossover model in December, the EX35, the company says.

Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury brand, introduced the new model at the Texas State Fair Auto Show.

Does the market really need another crossover, when there already are 45 of these car-based SUVs on sale?

Nissan believes so, and actually has two new compacts this year – the Nissan Rogue, which starts in the low-$20,000s and is intended for general audiences, and the EX35, for those with more-discriminating tastes (and more money).

While no prices have been announced yet, Nissan regional spokesman Steve ParrettÖ said it will begin at about the same price as the Infiniti G35 all-wheel-drive sedan, whose base price for 2007 is just under $35,000, including freight.

As to whether a premium compact crossover is necessary, Nissan is relying on a consumer survey that supports that notion, EX product planner Ken DavisÖ said during his introduction of the car to journalists during a preview of the fair’s annual auto show. “The EX35 is the product of an ‘unmet needs’ study,” he said. The study showed that women looking for a premium crossover wanted “more style, more space, more functionality, and more driving excitement” than is currently available in the compact segment, he said.

“This is a true crossover vehicle,” Davis said, which will compete with such other premium compacts as the Acura RDX and BMW X3.

But he said the vehicle also will compete with sedans in the entry-premium segment as well. Nissan believes that some consumers will switch to a crossover from sedans if the vehicle is designed to meet their needs, and that’s what the EX is all about.

This customer wants a distinctive vehicle, though, he said, with “different exterior and interior styling,” and also wants it to be the “right size.”

The EX35 is based on the chassis of the midsize entry-premium G35 sedan, and as a result, it’s essentially a wagon version of the G35.

It comes with the same great drivetrain, which includes the 297-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 engine and five-speed automatic transmission from the G35. Putting this much power under the hood of a car meant for women indicates that Nissan believes it’s not only men who enjoy truly sporty performance.

“That’s what we mean by driving excitement,” Davis said. The EX35’s power “far exceeds that of any of its competitors,” he said.

The EX35 is also the only vehicle in its segment with a choice of rear- or all-wheel drive, he said.

The car’s exterior embodies such design concepts as a “long hood, refined classic style, short front and rear overhangs, and wheels pushed to the corners,” Davis said.

The exterior design includes “signature Infiniti touches,” the company said, “including a double-arch grille, large L-shaped headlights with [the] available bi-xenon adaptive front lighting system, integrated fog lights, distinctive LED taillights and dynamic arch profile.”

Exterior features also include a spoiler on top of the rear hatch, dual chrome exhaust tips, an optional power moon roof, and optional roof cargo rails.

“Our other [Infiniti] vehicles are predominantly male-oriented,” Davis said. “This is for women.”

Even so, he said, Nissan believes men will like it, too. Buyers are expected to come from both sexes and all age groups, including “active singles, young couples and empty-nesters.”

To appeal to the target group – women – special attention was given to the EX35’s interior design, Davis said.

“The interior needs to be like a jewel to these consumers,” he said.

It also needs practical features that busy women appreciate, and among those in the EX are coat hangers that pop out from the rear of the front headrests, and a power-fold-down rear seat that allows for easy expansion of the cargo area at the touch of a button either in the rear of the cargo compartment or a switch up front. The seat can be raised again using the same switches. Women have never liked the manually operated fold-down seats in wagons, vans and SUVs, some of which are too heavy or complicated.

To give women one of the features they especially like about sport utilities, the front seat hip point is higher than that of the average sedan. But it’s lower than in the typical SUV, Davis said.

The cockpit features the Infiniti signature “double-wave” instrument panel, easy-to-read gauges with white-and-violet lighting, an analog clock, and “hospitality lighting,” with an LED beaming a penlight down from above the center console, Davis said.

There is a seven-inch LCD screen in the middle of the instrument panel for the trip computer, as well as for the optional navigation and audio system, which includes a 9.3-gigabyte hard drive for music storage and playback.

Cloth interior is standard, but leather is available. The center console and instrument stack come with black lacquer and aluminum trim, but maple wood is optional.

The EX also comes with some cool new technology that men and women will appreciate. Among the innovations is the “around-view” monitoring system, which uses four cameras, one each in the grille, on the tail, and on the side mirrors, to produce a bird’s-eye view of the area around the car on a monitor screen in the dash. The idea is to give the drive a “top-down view” of the car while parking, Davis said.

Another new feature is the industry’s first lane-departure prevention system, which he said goes beyond the lane-departure warning systems showing up on some other luxury vehicles.

When the EX35’s system detects the vehicle drifting out of its traffic lane, “the brakes tap themselves,: Davis said. “It gives the car a subtle push back into its lane.”

There’s also the “Scratch Shield” paint overcoating, which “self-heals” small scratches – such as those from fingernails under the door handles. The process can take from a day to a week, depending on the outside temperature and the depth of the scratch. It uses a special soft, elastic resin combined with the car’s conventional clearcoat paint to smooth out the scratches on its own. It won’t correct severe scratches though, just the minor everyday ones. Although this system is exclusive to the EX for now, it will be expanded to other Infiniti vehicles eventually, Davis said.

Other high-tech features include the optional Bluetooth hand-free phone system, standard Infiniti Intelligent Key with pushbutton start, and the optional XM satellite radio.

Also standard are an eight-way power driver’s seat with two-way manual lumbar support, and a four-way power passenger. Optional are a driver’s seat memory system, heated front seats, and an eight-way power passenger seat.

Available are a rearview monitor camera system, offered separately or as part of the around-view system; front and rear sonar parking assist; radar cruise control and a premium Bose audio system. The Bose system has 11 speakers, including two subwoofers, as well as a six-disc, in-dash CD changer and iPod input jack.

Four versions will be offered: the base model with rear drive and cloth seats; the all-wheel drive with cloth; the rear-drive Journey; and the all-wheel-drive Journey. Journey models come with leather, moon roof, the power-folding rear seat, auto-dimming rearview mirror with electronic compass, universal garage opener, front and rear sonar system and automatic headlights.