englishal
I almost agree with your comment about the dakota. However at 75% power I cruise at 130kts with 12USG burn and 65% power 125kts with 10.9USG burn. It is full airways rigged and certified. With full fuel at 65% power I have about 6 hours cruise not accounting for wind that is 750NM. i could of course drop to 55% power at 9.3USG and 115kts. also the MAUW is 3000lbs.
It is a lot more usefull than the average PA28/C150 and you can fly much better hours by going places that you would not think of in the average spam can.
Admittedly a nice TB20-30 or similar would be better.