Agree on the plastic thing. Then again it's common in many cars, and I'd say in most American cars. I had rides or drove a new Toyota Matrix, a Cadillac DTS and a Chevrolet van whose name I couldn't care about...
Plastic is plastic and yes, it's everywhere. Of course the problem was mainly felt in the cheaper Matrix, then again the much more expensive and more comfortable Cadillac had still far too much cheap plastic or cheap plastic feeling.
Same for the van, even if that one felt a lot like a commercial van so it was kinda OK.
I'd say that in Europe plastic is generally better feeling and less used especially for door panels.
As Culver said in another thread, it's not that American cars suck because American companies suck at designing them. The main point is that there is quite a share of buyers who just don't car as long as the car is working. And that's the same also when considering the boringness of some bodyworks.
I have to say, I agree with him.
IIRC the Insight failed to meet expectations because it was designed to be cheaper and smaller than what the market eventually asked. It's ironic you liked it the most
Personally I'd do the math for the running costs of a hybrid VS conventional car, wouldn't rule them out. They already proved to be as reliable if not more in many cases.