It's pretty hard to beat the Bulldog or Cap10 for handling, general "niceness" and "pilot appeal". Close behind are: Cub, T67, Pup and Citabria/Decathlon.
C152s may be relatively cheap but they lack the "razzle" I believe is needed for todays market, PA28s are probably better and not much more expensive.
There seem to be 3 groups of people who want to learn to fly: those doing it as a career step, those doing it because they have always wanted to learn and can finally afford it, and those doing it for business. Each group needs something different. Probably the ideal fleet is a mix:
- C152s for the cheap end,
- PA28s for those who want something a little smoother, believe aeroplanes should sit on their wings rather than hang from them (or need more leg/head/shoulder room),
- Arrows and Senecas as natural steps from the PA28s,
- Bulldogs for those that enjoy nice handling,
- Citabrias and Cubs for those who believe aeroplanes should point skyward when on the ground.
... oops. I've accidentally described the fleet where I'm normally based
HFD