It was perfectly playable with the pre-Eco Lifestyle patch and I'd recommend getting that one for all the bugfixes it brings. From my gut feeling I'd say the game even runs a little smoother with the patch, but take this with a grain of salt, please.
EL without mods is buggy in a way that I was ready to return to Sims 2 for good. The Neighborhood Action Plan interactions pushed my Free Will Off sims to autonomously do things like baking, instrument playing and initiating mischief socials when they were not even in a conversation.
But as others said before, what is a dealbreaker for one player may warrant a slight shrug at best for others.