Nissan Bassara: a short-lived Japanese MPV

The Nissan Bassara was a minivan built from November 1999 to June 2003. It shared a platform with the Nissan Presage and Nissan R’nessa and competed with the Japanese-market Honda Odyssey and Toyota Gaia. The name comes from a Sanskrit word for the prize that tempts someone to yield to temptation.

Nissan Bassara at a glance

based on one source: a short English Wikipedia article on the Nissan Bassara.

History of the Nissan Bassara

Place in the range

The Bassara was sold only in Japan, exclusively through Nissan Prince Store dealerships. It was discontinued when Nissan merged its five Japanese dealer networks into two sales chains and the Prince locations were renamed Nissan Red Stage.

Equipment

A trim called Axis was offered with a performance image, alongside the more comfort-oriented J, J Splendens, Highway Star, V, V Touring, X, X Leather Package, Luxury Package X and X Touring versions. The list shows how the Japanese market split one body into many equipment levels rather than separate models.

Design and features

• Shared platform: the same base as the Presage and R’nessa.
• Axis trim: the sporty-looking version of the range.
• Prince dealers only: sold through one Japanese dealer network.

Nissan Bassara versions

• Bassara J and J Splendens: the simpler trims.
• Bassara Highway Star: the better-equipped family version.
• Bassara Axis: the performance-image trim.
• Bassara X, Luxury Package X and X Touring: the top equipment levels.

The Bassara shared its platform with the Presage, and its role in the range later fell to the Elgrand. More cars are in the Nissan collection.

Sources

• Nissan Bassara, English Wikipedia: production dates, platform, dealers, trims