I don’t think it possible to win over the many folks that have been burned by VW over the past decade & 1/2. I’ve used an 04 Jeep Rubicon, then a ‘96 Landcruiser, each for 11 years. Now we travel full time in a Ford F-350 with a Fourwheelcamper Grandby Flatbed. The Landcruiser was/is by far and away, the vehicle to which all others are measured. When I sold mine to a collector it had 382,000 miles on the original drivetrain and is now 30 years old. We had a VW gasser. Since new, the check engine light came on constantly. They knew the problem was a bad design, they couldn’t fix it. Once out of warranty I could not get it inspected because of the CEL. We traded it in on a RAV4 and never looked back. Earn consideration from the overlanding crowd that VW hadn’t burned? Solid front axle, body on frame, simplicity, ie- the less electronics the better, the ability to repair breakdowns in the field and last but not least, payload.
