Add that to the fact that the "qi charger" in my car is very finicky about position. So, if I want to grab the phone to change music, take a picture, etc, etc while driving, then when I put it back in place I always have to fiddle with it to get it to start charging again. Whereas if it's plugged in to a wired connection, there is no fiddling about while I'm attempting to drive safely.

The qi charger in the car, and on the desk at the office don't get a whole lot of use. The one by my bed, a disc with one functional side, always!?! is wrong side up when I try to connect it, sleepily, in the dark. Plug in is just easier to use. I appear to have convinced myself to swap it out with a wired connection.

For phones, though, the absolute amount of energy is so low that a high percentage loss doesn't actually mean that much. A typical smartphone battery is about 15 Wh, so charging it literally every day for a year consumes 5.4 kWh. Doubling that won't make a noticeable difference to your energy consumption, the heat released in your home, your electric bill, etc.

That's why small device chargers are engineered without much regard for efficiency. For that specific application, having long flexible light cables is better than making sure it squeezes every bit of efficiency out of it.

For cars, though, even a 10% loss can make a difference.