parado will give u full 3rd seat row
7 seater
surf have high 3rd row, 5+2 seater
parado is full time 4wd i guess so
surf is part time, meaning u can use its as 2wd, better economy and some drifting fun
parado eats more deisel and surf
1997 me i think both will be using 1kz-te for 3000cc deisel engine, no 1kd-ftv at that time i guess.
drive, hmm wait for experiance person