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I recently received a letter from a reader urging me to campaign against the use of sex in selling cars and trucks.

“How unfortunate that we acquiesce [to]…immediate gratification in invoking ‘sex,’ be it real or otherwise,” the reader wrote. She said the nation’s insatiable lust stems from a lack of responsible, disciplined behavior that, if left unchecked, will lead to its “ruination.”

I was about to make an act of contrition and go along with her. But any inclination toward repentance was crushed by the arrival of the 2001 Infiniti QX4 sport-utility vehicle.

Its body was “Tuscan beige,” which looked more like a pearlescent silver. Its graphite interior was accented by soft, leather-surfaced seats and elegantly rendered works of polyurethane forestry on the center console, dashboard and interior door panels.

The test vehicle was loaded with amenities: heated seats and mirrors for chilly days, a climate-control and air-purification system, a six-speaker Bose audio system, a “one-touch” electrically controlled sunroof and a whoppin’ 240-horsepower V-6.

“From one citizen to another — for our generations to come, NO SEX,” the reader wrote. She asked me to push for a “good, healthy environment, the U.S. kind.” She concluded: “Long may our Flag fly.”

I couldn’t figure out how we’d get those “generations to come” without sex. But still, I was torn, in much the same way I was decades ago when I told some Divine Word Missionaries priests that I could not join their life of celibacy. “Why?” one of my religious mentors asked. “Marguerite Poitier,” I said back then, referring to a high school love. He didn’t press the issue.

Similarly, I must refuse my reader’s impassioned invitation. The answer here is the QX4. Without its many luxury touches and amenities, it would be just another Nissan Pathfinder sport-ute. I know that. The thousands of people ordering the QX4 know that.

But as presented, especially with the optional GPS navigation system, the new QX4 is powerfully attractive. It is difficult to think of this one as being only an expensively gilded version of its mechanical twin, though that is what it is.

What can I say? People are drawn to physical beauty, which is why many prefer praying in splendid cathedrals, as opposed to run-down parish churches in urban communities. Most of us wear clothes. But few of us elect to dress in sackcloth. Others of us choose not to dress at all.

It is the theory of segmented markets — what some people also refer to as the “greater fool” theory, the idea that there always are people willing to pay more for something that looks different, more beautiful, more powerful and sexy. Nissan North America Inc., through its luxury Infiniti group, is exploiting that theory.

Witness the hot sales of the Infiniti I30 sedan, which is a puffed-up copy of the Nissan Maxima. Both rely on versions of the Maxima’s 3 .5-liter V-6. Indeed, the new Pathfinder and QX4 sport-utes employ the same engine. In the QX4, the V-6 develops 240 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 265 pound-feet of torque at 3,200 rpm. It’s one of the best V-6 engines available.

So what’s the deal? Why are people paying more to buy essentially the same vehicles in different clothing? It’s the Red Dress Syndrome, dear readers. If it’s sexy, if it looks hot, it sells. Let us pray.

Nuts & Bolts

2001 Infiniti QX4 Complaints: The price of the tested 2001 QX4 4WD is quite high compared with the very similar Nissan Pathfinder LE 4WD with automatic transmission. The Nissan carries a base price of $31,299; the QX4 has a base price of $35,550. That’s a pretty stiff premium for a mostly cosmetic difference.

Also, many oncoming motorists complained, by blinking their lights, about the QX4’s high-intensity Xenon headlamps.

Praise: A stunningly beautiful, well-crafted, ex ceptionally co mfortable and easy-to-drive sport-utility vehicle.

Head-turning quotient: Super “wow” factor. During daytime drives, it attracted favorable attention everywhere it went.

Ride, acceleration, handling: Excellent in all three categories.

Brakes: Good, but can use an upgrade. The test vehicle was equipped with power front discs and rear drums with four-wheel anti-locks. Why not power four-wheel discs, Nissan?

Capacities: Seats five people. Can tow up to 5,000 pounds. Fuel tank holds 21.1 gallons of gasoline; regular unleaded is okay.

Mileage: About 17 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving.

Price: Base price is $35,550. Dealer’s invoice on base model is $32,253. Price as tested is $38,025, including $2,000 for the navigation system and a $525 destination charge.

Purse-strings note: Compare with Nissan Pathfinder LE 4WD, GMC Envoy, Lexus RX 300, BMW X5, Mercury Mountaineer and Honda Passport (which is the luxury version of the Isuzu Rodeo).