Top tube length has nowt to do with how high your seat is. The relationship between saddle height and bar height is only really down to BB height and head tube length assuming you’ve got the same forks and angles. If you leave the head tube the same length and alter the seat tube length to give a different ‘size’ bike, then your saddle and bars will still be in the same place, you’ll just need a longer seatpost.
If your top tube length alters then it may make the saddle to bars relationship feel different as your hands come closer/further away altering your weight distribution even though the bars and saddle are at the same height as before.
The 17 inch you talk of may have a higher BB or a shorter head tube or a mixture of both to give the feeling you describe.