Yes, it’s still snowy here. It’s not yet May 1st or midsummer, when the amount of snow has usually halved, so it’s not a bad idea to truck around town in a red Japanese 4×4. It’s just a matter of preference, whether you want yours to be XS or XL-sized. Check out the Suzuki and Nissan after the jump. Here’s the first one of our unbeatable duo. I just have to say, nothing improves the looks of an early-’80s Suzuki SJ410 more than a huge snow plow mounted on the front. It’s almost half the size of the truck itself, but the little Suzuki seems to perform admirably with it. These were also known as the Suzuki Jeep or Suzuki Samurai, but at first and around here Suzuki preferred a more basic nomenclature. The Suzuki seems to be in solid enough condition, with rust seemingly kept somewhat at bay. Of course, it’s been repainted here and there and is mostly dirty as hell, but the paint is still vivid enough to stand out of the snow. Handy, when you need to find it in the morning. White wheels suit the truck especially well, and are shod with Nokian Hakkapeliitta studded winter tires – the official Finnish choice. Just in case the plow won’t get all the snow off. The SJ410 is powered by a titular 4-cylinder 1.0 engine, which puts out all of 45 horses. Those must be pretty big and strong ones, as the truck is pushing 30 years and still doing duty. Structure-wise the SJ410 is very traditional, with solid axles and leaf springs front and back. Who would expect anything else? Moving on: The second truck here is fourth-gen Nissan Patrol, newer than the 3rd gen one I saw some time ago. In its decided ugliness it’s more handsome than the slab-sided previous one, and red suits it better than the usual UN white. This Patrol also has an imposingly-sized bull bar, which should fend off elks as well. It’s no snow plow, though. The fourth-generation Patrol was built from 1987 to 1997. It looks little else than a bulging development of the 3rd gen, but features coil springs instead of being leaf-sprung, even if it still had solid axles. The track was 17 cm wider now, too. Elsewhere, you could have it with a petrol straight-six engine, but the Finnish import program only featured diesel sixes, turbo or without. No Nokians this time, but Fulda Tramp tires. For some reason, the rear side windows have been replaced with plywood on both sides. Otherwise it’s a clean truck, with again little rust. I can’t testify on the frame rails’ behalf, of course. Despite being parked in front of a day spa, the Nissan is a tough-looking truck that looks very useable even 20-25 years on. Which one of these two would be your choice, the snow plow Suzuki or the more wide-hipped Patrol?