Honda Launches New Fit Shuttle Small MPV in Japan [ 46 Photos]

After briefly postponing the presentation of its all-new Fit Shuttle due to a variety of problems that arose from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Honda on Thursday officially launched its mini MPV.

While keeping the five-seat layout of the regular Fit (called Jazz in Europe), the Shuttle is longer and taller, with the extra space benefiting both the rear passengers and the cargo area.

The more practical version of the Fit is offered in two flavors, the base model powered by a conventional 1.5-liter i-VTEC four-cylinder gasoline engine and a hybrid variant combining a 1.3-liter gasoline unit to a 10 KW electric motor.

The hybrid model is available only with front-wheel drive and a CVT, while the regular Fit Shuttle can be ordered either with front-wheel drive and a CVT or with all-wheel drive and 5-speed automatic transmission.

Pricing of the Japan-only Fit Shuttle starts at ¥1,610,000 (~US$20,030), with the hybrid model commanding ¥1,810,000 (~US$22,500).

Hat tip to Leopaul D.!

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Nissan Rebadges Mazda5 MPV for Japan, Calls it the New Lafesta Highway Star

After preparing its customers with an announcement in January, Nissan today went ahead and introduced a re-badged version of the Mazda5 MPV (called Premacy in its home market) in the form of the new Lafesta Highway Star. The compact minivan is supplied to Nissan by Mazda on an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) basis, and will be sold exclusively in Japan.

The transformation of the Mazda5 into the Lafesta Highway Star was a rather straightforward process accomplished by adding Nissan’s logos inside and out, restyling the front end that gains a new hood, lights and bumpers, smoothing out the Mazda’s swoopy profile lines and adding a chrome strip between the tail lamps.

The 7-seater model 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.

In Japan, prices for the new Lafesta Highway Star range from 1,991,850 Yen to 2,483,250 Yen (US$24,650 to $30,700) with Nissan aiming to sell around 1,200 units per month.

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