I’ve noticed that many car reviewers spend a good amount of time pointing out whether or not they like the texture/feel of materials on the interior of the car. Does the average person actually care about this aspect of their car, or is it just a point of interest for some niche group of car enthusiasts? I’ve driven shitboxes and I’ve driven luxury cars, and I have never cared about or even noticed the feel or quality of the material on the dash and the steering wheel. I guess maybe the steering wheel material could make some people uncomfortable depending on what it’s made of, but come on, the dashboard? Who ever strokes their hand against their dashboard just to feel what the texture is like?
It is simply about comparing sets of (expected) features at some sort of price point. And a car review has to appeal to the widest possible audience. All sorts of people buy cars for all sorts of reasons. And cars are expensive (compared to income) especially new cars and of those especially mass market cars that are mostly used for their utility of moving people from point A to B.
Buying a car is also by a great margin an emotional decision, and this may often come down to very small deciding factors, which cannot be universally quantified. And thus a car review points your attention to all those small factors that might be the deciders. Interior colors, materials and build quality is one such thing.