The updated Lada Niva Legend, presented at the SPIEF-2026, received the most noticeable changes in the interior. AvtoVAZ redesigned the ergonomics and added equipment that the SUV had not had in its entire half-century history. The key focus is on driver comfort and noise reduction.
The interior has become noticeably quieter thanks to the integrally molded hood sound insulation. The manual gearbox lever has been moved closer to the driver, and the transfer case has become single-lever and received a third support — this reduces vibrations transmitted to the body.
The steering wheel is unified with the Lada Granta, while the ignition switch has been moved to the right side of the steering wheel, which is a serious departure from the long-standing "Niva" standard. The driver also received a front airbag — it appeared on this model for the first time, for which engineers had to modernize the body's power structure.
The list of equipment previously unavailable for the Legend includes: an air conditioning system with a cabin filter, central locking, and a single key for doors and ignition. Now there is no need to carry two different keys — one for the door lock, the other for the ignition lock.
The Lada Niva Legend will go into production on July 20, AvtoVAZ's birthday. This was announced by the head of the company, Maxim Sokolov, to "Izvestia" within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
Earlier, www1.ru reported that the updated Niva Legend was shown by AvtoVAZ at SPIEF-2026.