I'll add my voice to the "get rid of the click" crowd.
I think a "quick reply" should be just that: quick.
Also, it's a completely unnecessary function, as clicking the "quote" button is easier and does essentially the same thing.
I generally use the "quote" button when I'm replying to a specific post -- or a full text editor for really long posts -- and the "quick reply" box when typing a short response to the thread in general -- like I did here

.