I did a LOT of flying of a 177RG in my "formative" years. That beast cruised at 140 knots at 24/24 and was plenty roomy enough for four big blokes. It was possibly not quite as roomy as a 172 (which seemed big to me at the time, coming from an MS880B).
When we formed our first group, we were sorely tempted by the C177RG; it was the gear retract mechanism that put us off. It really is quite scary when you watch it from the ground as one goes over with the gear in transit.
It's a lovely aeroplane, looks brilliant, handles well. It could be loaded with four adults and full fuel - which is more than can be said for many other nominal 4-place retractables. The fuel capacity wasn't enormous, mind.
I never flew a 177B or any other of the fixed-gear versions. I prefer retractables because I like to fly long distances...
I can't comment on short field performance - I flew it out of Southend, and mostly into largeish fields elsewhere (places like Schiphol).