Nissan Launches Lafesta Highway Star 7-Seater MPV in Japan

Nissan and Mazda announced their collaboration under the original equipment manufacturing (OEM) back in January, saying that the Japanese market Mazda Premacy (know as the Mazda5 MPV in Europe and North America) will be sold as a Nissan in the Asian island nation.

The results of the face transplant are in, and the new Lafesta Highway Star looks exactly like a Nissan you’d buy as large, unimposing company car or to move a pack of dogs from place to place.

The transformation of the Mazda5 into the Lafesta Highway Star looks rather simple. On the outside, Nissan has festooned the MPV with its badges, while changing the hood, lights and bumpers, smoothing out the Mazda’s Zoom-Zoom profile lines and adding a chrome strip between the tail lamps. You also get a choice of three ally wheels, though none of them are particularly stylish. Nissan provides five color choices for the body, including the usual black, white and metallic grays.

The Nissan Lafesta Highway Star is offered with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine coupled to an automatic transmission with five-speeds in the front-wheel drive model and four-speeds in the all-wheel drive versions.

It’s only available in Japan, and will set customers back between JPY1,991,850 to JPY2,483,250 ($24,650 to $30,700). In the official company statement, the automaker told it expects to sell around 1,200 units every month.

Under that same OEM agreement, Mazda also provides Nissan with the Bongo Van/Truck (sold as the Nissan Vanette Van/Truck), while Nissan supplies the AD/AD Expert (sold as the Mazda Familia Van).