Abstract: An electrically powered heater for instantly heating the interior of motor vehicles and the like uses DC current to actuate a plurality of heating coils located in an under-dash mounted casing. The casing has an air flow passage therein and a motor driven fan arranged to draw ambient air through apertures in the rear of the casing, over the heated coils and back into the vehicle interior through the front of the casing. Each heating coil is connected either singly or in pairs with a manually operated toggle switch so that each coil may be turned on separately or all coils together to adjust the heat and power consumption levels. The fan is separately switched and may be operated independently of the coils. An electronic control circuit for the heater includes an on-off switch and a manually adjustable time delay network which automatically turns off the heating coils after a preselected time.