i've found the best way to protect the plastic is to keep your keys and any hard, sharp objects away from it and also found this product to be very good in helping to keep the plastic looking like new: Chemical Guys TVD_201_16 - Vintage Series Natural Shine, Satin Shine Dressing (16 oz) also as far as the interior goes i tried many different things and have found a product called Blue Coral that cleans the upholstery to almost like new condition. as far as comparison between the old and new versa hatch, yes it will seem like they went cheap on the interior, but when you consider the Note's main competitor is the Honda Fit you will be glad to know that the Fit's interior is just as plastic filled as the Note's...whether Honda or Nissan will upgrade their interiors at some point is up to pure speculation, but considering that both cars are their entry level econo boxes i highly doubt that they will upgrade the interior all that much on either car at any point in the future.