Its a point thats already been made but a small engined/slower car can be so much more fun than a larger engined/more powerful car when screwing the tits off it on a country road somewhere.
If youve got a 1.2 or 1.4 with sub-100bhp then chances are if your giving it the shoe you will be foot to the floor constantly working every last bhp out of the engine and making the most of its nimbler handling. With a less powerful car theres also the feeling its never really going to bite you on the arse if you push too hard.
Being on the limit in a 1.4 can be far more fun than driving the same road in something far more capable as chances are in the more powerful car you will never get to use its full potential. No doubt on a track a 172 would spank the slower car and feel great as you could push it to its limits without the nagging feeling it is desperate to acquaint you with the nearest hedge.
Its not a watertight example, but last weekend i went out in my friends 160bhp stripped out and slammed starlet GT turbo, which for such a small car is terrifyingly quick, on a deserted dual carriage way he put the toe in and very quickly we were doing almost double the national speed limit, however when we hit the yorkshire dales back roads my friend who was with us in a 205 1.8 Diesel with 60 bhp just dissapeared in the distance by a very very long way, and sat right on our arse was another friend in a 1.2 fiesta. Now i know the drivers involved have a lot to do with the situation, but speaking as a passenger in the gt turbo it felt like we were close to the limits of what the car could do on that road - putting the power down was extremely difficult, and the nervousness associated with the prospect of torque steering into a wall caused us to be far far slower than the mentioned 205 which ive ridden in many times, and in that its a case of welding foot to floor and getting the absolutel maximum amount of speed available from each corner. Its a damn sight more fun on twisties than the starlet, although as with a 172, the turbo roars off once you hit the straights.
My advice would be (as someone already said) to get a trackday sorted, youll no doubt garner a new found sense of respect for the capabilities of the car, which might give you the confidence to push it that bit more in real world driving.
Appologies for length, girth and duration.
