I don’t consider the 17th necessarily a completely good thing.
I’ve always looked at it as one of those things that could go both ways. The 17th did change somewhat the purpose, being representatives of the States versus individuals, however, it came at a time when more individuals started becoming more informed and more directly influenced by their respective States so it gave more power back to individuals.
It is how it has been used since that is the real problem. It has become a de facto House of Lords.