The Programmatic made a good beginners' machine.  We found the unit aesthetically appealing, when purchased, and easy to use.  To our uneducated pallets, it made half-decent coffee.

The build quality of our unit is very poor.  I have found some ill-conceived pieces of design work, especially around the group.  The plastic of the body has, despite regular cleaning, become rather grungy.

As espresso newbies, we were delighted with this machine when we first bought it.  Sadly, our enthusiasm went into decline, shortly after the warranty expired (surprise, surprise).  The first problem was a steam leak - the unit wasn't building up pressure and water (condensation) started dripping out of various places.  Upon investigation, I discovered that an 'O' ring which seals the steam delivery tube into a hole running through the heater block was missing - at least according to the parts diagram.  I purchased the appropriate component, fitted it and that problem went away.  That just left the fact that the LEDs on the front panel tended to go on and off at random; sometimes one of the buttons wouldn't work.  I found this to be due to a couple of very poor soldered joints on the front panel circuit board.  Re-soldered, everything was fine.  A year later, another steam leak, this time from the base of the manual steam valve.  Although the solution was to change an 'O' ring, the machine screw holding everything together was corroded solid to the body.  The group locking mechanism (nice, soft metal) is badly worn.   I would have expected more of German engineering.  (I have recently discovered that the machine was, in fact, built in Portugal.)  As soon as we have saved some dollars, we will be replacing it with a Rancilio Silvia.

Purchased through department store, partially as a result of an in-store demonstration of this particular model.