It warms the engine (and thus the interior) while I clear the driveway of snow, and it does this even if the doors are frozen shut because of a layer of ice.

By the time I get back to addressing the car itself, the snow and ice is easier to brush or scrape off and the doors might actually open without ripping the handle off (which is something that I've directly experienced twice so far in my days).

This all conspires to mean that it makes my life easier.

And it's OK if you don't like the feature and take a very dim view of it. It's also OK that some others may find merit in using it.

It's all OK.