I think your old and wise man might be half right.
I think this is correct: The VF1 and VF2 have the same footprint on the floor, the same table size and they have the same motor options, the difference is the X axis travel. The VF3 is a bigger structure, bigger table , more travel and I think this one has a gearbox option on the spindle drive which makes it able to handle heavier cuts at lower speeds. The direct drive machines can poop out with big face mills.
We machine lots of things in your size range on the smaller machines quite successfully.
An open mind is a virtue...so long as all the common sense has not leaked out.