Lada Niva Legend wins 2021 ‘Off Roader of the Year’ award

The 16th-annual Russian Off Roader of the Year awards have been run and won, with three-separate juries voting across 10 vehicle categories. The awards, operated by Club 4x4 magazine in Russia, are split between an expert, influencer or blogger group and a national 'Grand Jury' panel. Categories cover various size 4x4 SUVs, all-wheel-drive crossovers, front-drive crossovers, 4x4 pickups as well as a new electric SUV segment.

While the new Land Rover Defender took the Grand Jury award for a full-size 4x4 (the Defender also took top-honours in the 2021 Drive Car of the Year Off-Road SUV category), and the Toyota LandCruiser Prado the medium-size prize, it was the ancient Lada Niva Legend which surprised the most, winning the Grand Jury award for best compact 4x4.

In production largely unchanged since 1977, the Niva Legend retains the iconic off-roader's compact three-door body, monocoque chassis and coil spring suspension setup. The original Fiat-sourced 1.6-litre carburettor four-cylinder petrol engine was replaced by a 61kW/129Nm 1.7-litre fuel-injected unit in 1996, which is still used today.

The Niva is Lada's third top-selling model, accounting for nearly 18 per cent of the brand's vehicles sold in August this year (behind 36 per cent the mid-size Vesta range, and 26 per cent the compact Granta lineup).

The latest award will sit on the mantlepiece next to a 'Loyaty to Tradition' trophy (a 'Hall of Fame' induction of sorts), bestowed on the Niva by Russian magazine Za Rulem in April this year, when the little four-wheeler reclaimed its traditional name (it was briefly called the Lada 4x4) and rejoined the Lada lineup as the Niva Legend.

A full breakdown of the 2021 Russian Off-Roader of the Year awards are as follows.