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FYI... some stuff pulled off prius forums...
Blocking the front intake grille on a hybrid vehicle is one of the most significant improvements that any hybrid owner can make to offset the inevitable loss in fuel economy during the winter months.
Why block the front grille?
On the Prius and Civic Hybrid the optimal performance range occurs when the gas engine temperature is between 60C and 90C. In between those ranges both cars offer additional stages of operation particularly in areas affecting electric propulsion, regeneration and fuel consumption rates. However, when the ambient temperatures fall below freezing , it not only takes longer for the vehicle’s engine to arrive to the optimal range, but sometimes depending on how low the ambient temperature actually is, it may not even reach ideal operation at all.
The main reason why this is so is because as the vehicle moves forward the colder air rushes into the engine bay and prevents the engine from warming up as quickly as it should.
Now, if we factor in the fact that the car is being operated by a human being, the climate control is also likely to be set to "warm up" the passenger cabin. This too helps deplete/steal the heat the engine is producing thus slowing down the warm-up process even further.
Because the Prius and HCH have smaller engines, they also produce less heat since heat produced is a function of how little fuel gets burnt per unit of time. This makes these and other small cars more sensitive to cold weather operation and causes severe losses of fuel economy performance.
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