Re the 172 - I have to agree with Ghengis. I've spent many hours driving various marks of 172 around the sky and they have always failed to inspire. Competant, safe.... elevator is quite nice, flaps on the older ones (40 degrees) are excellent, but oh those vague ailerons, stiff and unco-ordinated rudder, and everything else that makes it what it is.
Bit of a rice pudding, I'm afraid.
What concerns me about this, the similarly dull PA28, and a few others colloqually known as 'spam cans' is that many PPLs have probably never experienced anything else and think all aeroplanes are like that.
They are not! There are lots of delightful machines out there, Lotus Elises compared to Ford Cortinas, many with the little wheel at the other end!