Everyone here seems to have a good understanding of the pros and cons of the two methods.
Why can't aussie 4x4 jounos put things this simply ?
There's no doubt that the monocoque concept is very well suited to a 4x4 wagon. It helps to maximise interior space, strength/weight ratio, safety scores, ride/handling. After driving a new Patrol recently, I had forgotten about the scuttle shake these things get over minor bumps. They must be real bad on a rough road at speed.
Having said all that, there's no doubt that a separate chassis is the way to go for utes, swbs and anything you might want to modify heavily. Good news then that TK will still have a chassis.
Over the next couple of years, Jeep will have three fairly distinct model ranges to suit a wider variety of customers :
TK and variants - separate chassis, live axles front and rear, swb and lwb Wranglers, 4 door wagon ( Cherokee ??
), utility ( Gladiator ). Trad Jeeps. Factory lockers on some models.
KJ/KK/WH/XH - monocoque, independent suspensions, reasonable ground clearance and angles, low range. Will still have good off road capability but not really designed with the Rubicon Trail in mind anymore. Factory lockers on some models, electronic traction control on others.
MK/Compass/Patriot - monocoque, independent front and rear, soft roader, ok for light beach work, snow, bad weather. Great compared to a RAV4 but you're not gunna sell your built XJ for one of these. Electronic traction systems.
I really think Jeep is way ahead of everyone else with their platforms. Only Land Rover has spent serious money recently on developing new off-road capable vehicles and they're really barking up the wrong tree. Disco3 has all the DISadvantages of monocoque ( cost, complexity ) AND all the DISadvantages of a chassis ( flex, shudder, high weight ).