3 cost-efficient steps to keep your vehicle warm this winter

Unless you have a holiday planned in the next couple of months, the hot weather has unfortunately come to a close. Now we have hot fires, mulled wine and all of those delicious mince pies to look forward to. But with cold weather comes a much colder driving experience. If you’re up before the sun, this issue can be compounded even further. Most drivers will resort to idling their vehicle for a few minutes before setting off – but this can damage your vehicle, your wallet and the environment by extension. Allow us to suggest a three-step process to fix this problem in a less destructive manner.

1. Don’t sit there, drive.

We’re all familiar with the 10 minute wait in the car, with breath resembling vape clouds filling your cabin every 5 seconds. But did you know that there is a way to warm up your vehicle more efficiently, whilst saving money? Fuel injection and onboard computers mean that the maximum amount of time it will take for your engine to heat up is only 1 minute. The trick is to turn on your ignition before starting the engine, then wait until you hear the fuel pump priming the engine. Once that happens, you’re ready to start the car.

2. Give your heater some time to adjust

If you’ve completed the first step, your knee-jerk reaction will probably be to turn the heater on right away. However, let’s not get too excited. If you turn on your heater, whilst you still have a cold engine, cold air is all you’re going to feel. In fact, this cold air is going to stop your engine from getting hot as fast as it could – leaving you sitting there as a human ice pop. This is the moment that you’ll want to idle your vehicle, for roughly 30 seconds. Once you have done this, you can begin driving – turn on the air and feel the heat wash over you in an awesome wave.

3. Aim the heat correctly

You might be tempted to just shoot your warm air without thinking about where it is going – when in fact, you should begin by pointing at your (and possibly a passenger’s) chest. This is the area of your body that needs the most attention and will warm your whole body as quickly as possible. Next up in the heat firing line is your feet – not just because your little piggies are freezing up, but as most will know, the heat will rise. As a result, the whole car will start to feel the warmth.

One important thing to keep in mind, is that this process may not work with every car. However, it will either help or do nothing, so it is definitely worth the attempt. Keep warm this upcoming winter in the most efficient possible!