I find this to be more true in guns that were 9mm designs converted to .40. Guns designed from the ground up as a .40, like the P229, eliminate much of the 'snap'.
The next time the FBI gets into a shootout where their new wonder nines fail to perform you'll start to hear "they should have stuck to the 40".
I have two. The PPQ being a bit more snappy then the Steyr. I plan to keep both especially now that resale value has plummeted.
And if 40 is so poo poo now why is 10mm gaining in popularity?
I'm slowly headed down the path of caliber consolidation, but .40 will not be one of the ones I get rid of. I'm almost out of the .380 world. 9mm, .40 and .45 are my main calibers with a bit of 10mm thrown in too.
Perhaps for a SHTF, I'd pick up a Glock that's in .40 but carry it with the 9mm conversion. On the basis that if I need to switch to 40 for any reason, I have that ability.
The 10mm is not gaining in popularity as a personal defense round. It is gaining primarily has a handgun hunting round. There aren't many autoloading handgun cartridges that are viable hunting loads-- it's typically been a revolver market.
I still contend that the "snappiness" is the ONLY reason people don't like the for-tay. If they'd stop trying to turn it back into a 10mm and let it live at the slower speeds I posted above, I think it could be VERY popular.