I used to live in California, but I now live in Montana, which I love. The only downside is that the winters are long and cold, but after 7 years of living here I’ve gotten quite used to the winter weather.
We have a 2015 Toyota 4-Runner which we are very happy with, but when it’s cold outside it takes at least 5 minutes of highway driving before the engine warms up enough to provide decent heat for the occupants. The car is parked in a garage, and I sometimes warm up the car for 10 minutes before jumping in, but running it at idle for 10 minutes doesn’t warm of the engine, and I still have to drive 5 minutes before any hot air comes out of the heater.
Before you call me a wimp for complaining about driving a cold car for 5 minutes, keep in mind that it may be -10 degrees outside and I have to bundle up to be comfortable, and once the car warms up I then have to shed by coat, scarf, gloves etc. I suppose I could heat my garage up to 70 degrees, but that would be expensive and wasteful.
Why don’t car makers sell a “cold weather” option that includes an electric interior heater that would warm up the passengers until the engine is warm enough to provide adequate heat? Or do they?