The Sidewinder is definitely the most underrated, it's the ship that everyone starts with, and it's the ship everyone dumps as soon as possible. While not the most versatile ship on it's own, engineering helps push it into usable territory. It's small size makes it ideal for hunting those elusive mountain exobiology down. It's fast so it can outrun pirates and/or system security. It can fit a shield that can recharge to full in a few seconds. All this combined make it possible to make a Sidewinder specialized in combat, or exploration, or piracy, or ground missions.
This an older video from Powerplay 1.0 but it shows off the sidewinder in combat.
And an older bounty hunting build with enforcers.