Depending on where you live, a Cessna 170 may turn out to be a good
economical 4-seat taildragger. I've carried 4 adults and full fuel in
one (admittedly only one of the adults was on the rotund side). The nice
thing about the C170 is that the forward visibility on the ground is
better than the forward visibility in a PA-28 due to its down-sloping
nose. The view over the nose in flight is awesome.

I used to own a C170 and it was a fun airplane to fly.
I eventually traded up to my C185 and now that my family
is larger (wife + 2 kids) I appreciate the C185 more than ever.
I've done quite a few trips half way and even all the way
across the country with the whole family. I don't think they
would have had the patience to do that trip in the C170
not to mention that sometimes we were loaded to the gills.
The C170 is not exactly a load hauler and is underpowered
for any high altitude operations with four people.
So bottom line, if you can scrape enough money together,
buy a C180/C185. You will never regret it. If you can't
afford it, go with the C170 and you will have fun with
that too.

~Paul