While it would be nice to have warm engine and car when you come out of your office at the end of the day, knowing that you can get instant heat from the ceramic heater puts you in a better position than if you were driving a gas engine vehicle that may take 10 minutes to start warming up.

On the other hand, I'll be wanting to see if the diesel engine can produce enough engine heat to keep itself at normal operating temperatures during very cold temperatures. This is important as you don't want to have to be relying on electric heat for all of the heating needs; it will tax the alternator and as the component is belt driven, will increase fuel consumption.

I raise the point because of my experience with my 2004 Dodge diesel pickup. When it wasn't hauling a load, it would take 30 minutes to reach operating temperature when the outside temps were -20C and colder. One winter, we suffered through a week of daytime highs that did not rise abouve -33C (don't ask about the nights). During this period, the engine temperature guage needle didn't move past the first mark on the guage. When I was at a stop for 15 minutes and idling (long train), the temperature guage actualy dropped back to the cold line. It was a miserable week, to say the least.

I'l be waiting until the winter weather sets in to test the X5's heater.