Too many twos and tos in that title.
Good thing you weren't shopping for a Cessna 152II.
The Warrior (then called "Cherokee Warrior") was introduced for the 1974 model year, and was the first of the PA-28 line to have the 35'-span tapered wing (170 sq ft wing area), instead of the 30' span (160 sq ft) rectangular "Hershey Bar" wing. The reason for the new design was to produce a Cherokee that performed and handled more like a 172 (36 ft span, 174 sq ft wing area), and in that for the most part it succeeded. So well, in fact, that the tapered wing spread to the rest of the PA-28 and PA-32 lines, except for the Cherokee 140.
In flight you're unlikely to tell much of a difference in handling. The Warrior's stabilator makes pitch control somewhat more responsive, especially in the flare, and it might seem a little more difficult to get it trimmed "just right" in cruise.
The comments by others about fuel management, and different POH recommendations for use of carb heat, are correct.
I like the PA-28's manual flap control. The flaps, though, are not as large or as effective as those on the Cessna, so you can't count on them as much to salvage a too-high, too-fast approach, as one might in a Cessna.
My biggest concern (and fear) are crosswind landings.
If anything, crosswind landings are easier in the Warrior than in a Cessna, and with its wider gear and lower CG the airplane is more forgiving of a botched crosswind arrival.
I think with the Piper the rudder pedals control the nose wheel, right?
Yes, as they do in the Cessna and many other tri-gear lightplanes. The difference is what
kind of linkage there is between the rudder pedals and the nosewheel. Cessnas have a rather loose, springy connection between the pedals and the nosewheel. While parked on the ground you can easily move the rudder stop-to-stop with the rudder pedals, or move the rudder by hand outside, while the nosewheel remains motionless. You can feel some resistance from the spring, but not much.
Cessna nosegears also have a centering cam in the oleo strut. When the strut is fully extended, as when the airplane is in flight, the cam centers the nosewheel so it's always pointed straight ahead when you touch down, regardless of the position of the rudder. (That's why if the strut is pumped up too high, or if the CG is too far aft, it can be hard to turn the airplane while taxiing.)
Earlier PA-28s had a direct mechanical connection between the rudder pedals and the nosewheel, with no give in the system at all. That's why PA-28s have a "No Push" placard on the rudder. If the rudder is deflected the nosewheel is deflected, on the ground or in the air.
Beginning with the 1974 model year (which includes all Warriors) a bungee was incorporated into the nosewheel steering circuit of all fixed-gear PA-28s to make steering a little easier, but it's still a stiffer connection than in Cessnas. And there is no centering cam, so if you land with the rudder shoved one way or the other, the airplane will steer that way when the nosewheel touches down. But if you're aware of that phenomenon and are ready to give the airplane its head when it touches down, you should not have a problem.
