Why does hard plastic offend car reviewers so badly?

[Daox]

In reading many reviews of the Mirage (and other small cars I tend to like), its very common to see reviewers really complain about 'hard plastic' interor panels. I'm curious why this seems to be such an offensive car attribute. Not once have I ever got into a car and said "OMG, its hard plastic! I'm not going to buy this thing." Yet, that is what seems to come across in these reviews. Do they like to hit their head on interior panels so often that they need to soften the blow? I certainly do not! Maybe this is just my rant on (one of the many) things that annoy me about 'professional' car reviewers. It just seems wildly blown out of proportion.