I was trying to think of the things that make the Vgon worth the trouble and
that I don't see in other vehicles.

If you were going to design a vehicle from the ground up to replace the
Vanagon, keeping in mind gov't requirements and all that, what features
would it have and what would it look like- what are the 'essential' Vanagon
elements? What among those elements should be improved or upgraded (how and
why)?

Cya,
Robert