I just bought a PT 185 with a 90 hp Mercury.
I don't have any other boat to compare this to, since I've not had any other boat.
With that said, I love this boat for the price. I had it out on Lake Cumberland this weekend and it was very rough out there. There were house boats everywhere and with a strond wind there were waves 3 to 4 ft at times.
This boat had no problem handling that type of water. I did slow down at times just so I wouldn't jump the boat and pull the motor out of the water.
It will run at 43 mph and with a tail wind a little quicker.
The only thing I need is a fish finder for the bow.
I haven't seen anyone else mention this, the weight of the boat is much less that it's fiberglass counter parts. Makes pulling it with a Jeep Cherokee sport very easy.