I can't speak much on the PVP aspect, but I know it's there. There's some kind of Terran vs. Progen thing going on that any player, regardless of race, can join on either side in a star system/zone set aside for it.
The in-game character builder can't be expected to be anywhere close to City of Heroes in terms of customization, but it does allow for some diversity among the pilots. Among the starships, there's only three designs per hull section per race, so ... you're looking at ... 27 different combinations of hull shapes per race? You do get to pick color combinations for each as well as decals for the "wings" and the name of the ship (which will actually appear on its sides), but ...
PVE is slower paced than City of Heroes, I would say. But I don't know how much I trust my opinion on this. I haven't seen what raiding is like yet, and my main isn't exactly the kind of class that is ideal for smashing faces in (or breaching hulls, as the case may be).