After a few years owning my 84 van with a westie interior I've come to
appreciate it's uniqueness.  Vanagons are special.

  Here's a few of my 'plusses', reasons why I'm glad to have my Vanagon, why
I wouldn't trade it for another vehicle:  In no particular order

1/  Size and shape.  Vanagons are short-ish in length, fit into most
garages, are car-width and you can 'walk around inside' if you stay bent
over.  The cargo area is at a convenient height to load things into or to
step into, even with something in your arms.  The rear 'deck' inside the
hatch is a good height for luggage and tools.

2/  They are remarkably agile and have good ground clearance.  The turning
radius is better than many small cars, certainly better than most other vans
or trucks.  You can see out of them easily, parallel park, even.  Dirt roads
aren't cause for special care...if other vehicles have made it,  a vanagon
should get through also.  They are relativly light so soft ground is
negotiable (within reason)  Rear wheel drive is a big plus for me.  Front
drive vehicles aren't fun downhill in low traction situations.  I'm simply
more at home with RWD vehicles handling behavior..especially a vehicle
without fancy computer traction control.

3/ They are sturdy.  Look how many are still on the roads.  Blasting down a
washboard road to the tip of Baja or commuting daily doesn't seem to send
them to the scrap yard very quickly.  Hanging a rack on the roof or jacking
up one corner of my van I often notice it's 'substance'..Not "tinny or
Plastic".

4/ They are assembled so that they can be 'worked on' fairly easily.  Things
in Vanagons can be removed and replaced, repaired and restored without tons
of special tools, without complex factory diagnostic consoles, etc etc
.
5/  There is a good support system for the Vanagon.  This list, our own
specialty 'suppliers', many enthusiasts who'll give knowledgable advice.
Most known 'issues' have surfaced and the best "fixes" have long been
worked-out.

6/ Reasonably economical.  For a larger vehicle they have reasonable fuel
consumption.  The Westies do well compared to other campmobiles and the
regular hardtop vans compare favorably to bigger vans and even come close to
 the low passenger mini-vans.. Maintence, once caught up,  isn't a problem
for most.

7/...Special Features of my particular Vanagon:  I looked for the simplest
van I could get without "Power anything".  I have no options, no extra
anything and I love that simplicity.  No AC, cruise control,  power windows,
auto tranny..etc etc.  Not a lot of "stuff", extra stuff that I need to keep
operating in order to have my van working right.  I hate having stuff that
doesn't work...so if I had air conditioning and it broke...I would have to
fix it or it would bug me!  I don't have it, so I just lean across when I
get hot driving down the road and roll down the passenger window...
  I also like my inline gas 1.8liter rabbit/golf/jetta motor.  Simpler than
a WBX or a Subaru motor and gets better gas mileage with decent power.
Seems very dependable and low maintence in the ~40k miles I have on it since
I got the van.

  So there is my positive post about what is fine about Vanagons...anyone
else?
  Don Hanson