300 VR vs 200-400 for distant subject

A question to those who have experience with both lenses.

According to what I've read (Thom Hogan: http://www.bythom.com/Nikkor-200-400mm-lensreview.htm , Michael Weber: http://imagepower.de/IMAGES/imgEQUIPMENT/AFS200400.htm ) the 200-400 is a very good lens at near/middle distance. It's not equally good when shooting distant subjects, and therefore it does not seem suitable for landscape/cityscape photography. I wonder if the 300/2.8 VR has a different character and would greatly appreciate knowing how it performs when shooting near and distant subjects.
I use D300 & D700.
Thanx.