At first (as it says in the manual), you need to make a few coffees before the machine calibrates itself and the coffee becomes perfect (the grounds were quite watery at first – more like sludge – before pucks started to form). Otherwise, I rate it very positively. For me, the simple control panel is great, where I can quickly select everything I need – type, volume, and strength. According to the manual, you can also set the water temperature, water hardness, and even a custom volume to suit your cup (at the highest volume setting). What I like, for example, is that if the water runs out while making a coffee, the process just pauses, and you can continue after refilling it (unlike much more expensive De'Longhi machines, where it just stops and ejects the puck). The entire brew unit comes out very easily, and you can quickly clean everything that needs it. The side placement of the water tank and the way it slides out to the front is convenient (a rear placement that pulls upwards wouldn't have been possible for me because of the upper cabinet above the coffee machine). The seal on the coffee bean container lid is good, as it preserves the aroma and dampens the noise from the grinder. A possible disadvantage is the smaller capacity of the brew unit – I was used to the De'Longhi machine we have at work, where I could select a double espresso or a doppio+, which prepares a larger cup of very intense coffee from a single ground dose. However, if I prepare the same amount with this machine (whether using the Espresso or Coffee setting), it's always weaker, even at maximum strength. The x2 option solves this, though, by grinding two doses for one selection. The entire machine is made of plastic, but that might actually be better because, in my older machine, the aluminium parts inside started to oxidise, and it was getting into the coffee. Time will tell how long the new machine will last.