i was only playing devil's advocate before. My pick would be the O470 powered 182 with fixed gear. Cruise at 2200-2300 rpm - nice, quiet and lazy, good short field (doesn't seem to be an issue with the OP though) and well priced. Just a bit cooler and better performing than a 172 - and the stressed-engine 172 is good for a purpose, but imho across the board the 230hp 182 is the better all-round plane. I have about 1000hrs in 172/182, 750 in 206's and 500 in 210s.