The ONLY people who will tell you that the C180 is better aeroplane - are those who have never flown a C185!
That's a bit of a sweeping statement there
FTD, wouldn't you say ???
"better aeroplane" means different things to different people.
For instance, in PNG the 185 is a better aeroplane than your Bo...so would you say the 185 is a better aircraft than a Bonanza ?
Some would still say "yes" , but then, like you said, "This could get interesting"
I've certainly flown both and I would say that the 180 is a "nicer" aircraft than the 185, but not necessarily as capable.
We have one chap in our club who has a 180 with an IO550 attached that will walk away from any 185 around. (but then it's not a real 180)