Frankly i found Sidewinder to be a perfect game design choice to start the game with.
It's a small sized ship which means new players have it easy to enter and leave stations. Can dock anywhere as opposed to large sized ships.
It's very maneuverable making it fun to perform many tasks, from short-range exploring to low level combat. It is limited however to its internal modules.
Not to mention great cockpit design which feels homey with the little shelf to the right of the pilot's chair, fire extinguisher(i guess) and other stuff laying about.
Furthermore, the visibility in the cockpit feels is great showing what the game has on offer. Allowing new players to have a good look around and wonder what else the game might hide. I love Sidewinder and jump back into it every now and again. To me it has the best cockpit of all ships in the game because i know i'd have a bit of this and that laying in my cockpit have i been a real life spacecraft pilot.