Hey there,
I'Ve read this little thread so far and agree with pretty much everything said here.
The Cobra is a great ship to build up your credits and learn stuff about the game in general. It is a very good allrounder, possibly the best out there in its class. As has been mentioned before, if you go out exploring in this little tin can, be aware of your rebuy cost for the ship and its installed components. Especially if you have been out there for a while, mistakes can and will happen, as pretty much everyone will tell you
If you risk the ship, have at least the amount of credits to rebuy it, if something fatal happens to it, I'd rather recommend having 2 to 3 times the amount if you know you'll do something risky. The learning curve in this game is rather steep and sometimes painful, but it's worth your while.
Still, you ALWAYS need to plan ahead.
That said, I agree that short of an Anaconda, which is insanely expensive to buy and outfit for a new player, if you want to do exploration then aim for the Asp Explorer. Great jump range, great maneuverability and it has decent module slots to play around with.
And once you gathered some materials, you should definitely look into engineering, especially the FSD jump range and surface scanners.
But.... the Cobra is a goddamn good ship. It'll treat you well, of you treat it well
Fly dangerously and don't hesitate to add me to your friends, commander o7