Slow Warmup
 

I find that my 8 is slow to warm up in the winter. The problem is getting heat in the cabin in a relatively short time. To me, this is both a comfort and a safety factor. Of course, it will warm up slower in cold weather, but I don't have much heat after about 15 minutes (or more) of driving, and this seems excessive. It's much slower to warm up than most newer cars. I don't want to let it set in the driveway idling to warm up before driving - takes too much gas.

Has anyone observed the same?

I asked about this at my dealer last time in for service. They had my car warm up next to another 8 and both cars took the same time. The cars were indoors on an 80+ degree (F) day. So, sure, it would warm up pretty quick. They didn't know of any solution. The master tech is supposedly going to contact "Mazda engineers". They have received no other complaints. I don't hold out much hope for an answer from the dealer.

Any ideas or suggestions?