I've just played this for a couple of sim days.
Pros: Lovely design! I love the color scheme, and the layout is impressive for such a small house. Sure, it's a bit cramped, but it's an efficiency, whaddya expect? Very livable.
Cons: This is a personal issue with me, and I assume that most people won't have a problem with it. I hate the graphics associated with the scientific upgrades. The flashing, pulsing, and sparkling gets on my nerves in seconds. For what it's worth, I have trouble with many repetitve visual stimuli. Seeing strobe effects in movies, for example, sometimes make me feel pretty queasy. Even though it killed the amazing 40+ decorated moodlet, I had to delete and replace the enhanced objects, replicating the style of the orginals as best as I could manage.
Another very small issue, no room for a computer desk inside, and always like my sims to have one at home.. But one can be placed outside, so not a big issue at all (I think. I placed it on a 10X15 lot).
Overall: One of the best starters I've seen. Even with my glitchy brain motivating me to nullify one the major benefits of this house, it's still charming and fun. I'm just disapointed that I am unable to enjoy it in it's intended state. Two thumbs up.