How is my BMW instantly warm in the morning?

I've noticed that heated air comes out of the vents more or less instantly when I start my 2015 BMW 320i in the morning and turn on the air conditioning. How does it do this? Is there an electric heating element?

Asked on 16 December 2016 by Pelican

Answered by Honest John

Because it's turbocharged and the engine coolant runs through the turbocharger to cool it. The converse is that the hot exhaust gasses turning the turbo heat up the coolant very quickly. Petrol turbos always did warm up quickly in the winter.

Tags: petrol air con heater turbo engines

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