My '09 Limited also has the chrome clad wheels. I didn't realize they were plastic covers on aluminum wheels until I purchased the car and had it home. At first I was turned off on the plastic covered wheels, but they did shine up really nice with some Mother's chrome polish. In fact, they looked pretty darn good.
A week or two later I asked if the dealer could replace the wheels with something else, but the only thing they could swap them with were 16 inch wheels, which of course I didn't want. Ever since I've been noticing even more expensive cars having the chrome clad wheels, so I don't feel as bad about them anymore. Maybe it's an Industry trend to reduce costs.
I live in the south so I'm guessing the chrome clad will hold up fairly well. Also, I know someone in the North that had the chrome clad wheels and he thought they held up pretty good in the snow/salt over the years.
With my Escape's dark charcoal color, I think the chrome wheels set off the car nicely. If I were to replace the clad wheels, I would definitely look at chrome again. But, that new sport package's black plastic clad wheels look pretty good too...Maybe a good paint shop will come in handy someday.