My wife drives a 2006 Jetta TDI, but living in MN that can make for some very cold drives. She’s had enough and wants a new car, but one that will get to operating temperature the quickest so that heater can run at full blast as soon as possible.
Any suggestions? I’m thinking a turbo 4 would heat up the quickest, but maybe a NA 4 would heat up faster? Thoughts? It’s not something that’s very easy to Google and I’ve never seen any car magazine test for this, so I’m hoping the community might have done wisdom or experience.
Well, I’m in Minnesota too and I’d say a gas engine not diesel, and the bigger the better. A V6 or V8 will throw off more heat in my experience. In my Pontiac with a V6, I start to get warm air in about 6 blocks when its parked in the garage.
Prius V is pretty quick. Here is a post from wikipedia
“The Prius v also includes a redesigned engine coolant heating structure surrounding the vehicle’s catalytic converter and the exhaust heat recirculation system has been refined to reduce engine warm-up time and improve occupant heater response time in cold weather. A switch valve electronically controls coolant recirculation through the exhaust heat recirculation system”
It amazes me how fast the car starts blowing nice warm heat. Another reason I like it.
My ex gf had a Kia Sephia. The car was pretty crappy in many ways, but it did heat up faster than any car I’d ever seen. You’d have usable heat in about a half mile. I seem to remember a friend having a (Nissan?) back in the late 80s that had a supplemental electric heater, so you’d get heat nearly instantly.
If the Prius circulates coolant around the 1,400+ degree catalytic converter, I’d imagine it would heat up pretty quick. I don’t know if I’d want the extra complexity and one more thing to fail just to have my car heat up faster though.
@kmccune Block heater is a great inexpensive option. A remote starter too is cheaper too. Options like heated seats and steering wheels are great cold weather aids. Most modern cars are really good in reality. Just add the block heater and remote starter to any new car. The diesel on my tractor throws out heat quickly with the block heater.
we have a 98 Civic and 03 Accord. Both warm quickly. I have had 3 different Bronco IIs, very fast heat. I have a new Duramax diesel. Forever and then some.
If a cold car was my problem, I would do the following:
Install a block heater with a timer, 2 hours is all you need to get the coolant warm enough for an easy start and quick warmup.
Install an interior car warmer, usually mounted on a kick panel or under the dash. These need also 2 hours or so to warm up the interior. Cost about $30
Install a plug-in seat warmer that goes into the cigarette lighter outlet. Use only when the car is operating.
Install a remorte starter and warm the car up that way for 10 minutes. My neighbor does that with his truck parked outside.
We live in an area at least as cold or colder than Minnesota, and I’ve had very few complaints from my wife. If you cannot plug in at work, start the car and run it for 5-10 minutes before heading home.
Getting another car and not doing any of the above will get you little improvement and cost you a lot.
We park in an unheated, but insulated attached garage. We sometimes plug the cars in, but it’s not usually necessary.
A block heater is a lot less expensive than a new car, so count me as one more vote for that option.
If your wife insists on getting a new car anyway, experience tells me that a small engine heats up faster than a large one, so no matter what you get, make it a little four-banger.
For what it’s worth, the fastest warming up car, I’ve ever personally been in or have driven was my mom’s old 1994 Jaguar XJ12. I’m not sure what made it warm up so quickly, but the heater was pumping out hot air within about 2-3 minutes of startup. By the time you were about 2/3’s of a mile down the road the engine temp gauge was already about half way to it’s normal operating temperature. This was at around 20-30F ambient temp.
That and the fact that it could rarely go more than 3 months without a trip to the repair shop were it’s most astounding features.
I think seat heaters are the best solution. I guess I am prepared for the elements so car temp is not such an issue, but lost my liberty with heated seats, and that is the #1 consideration in my book.