I am a new Prius owner...so this may be a dumb question/inquiry

welcome!
you are exactly right. it has to go through the warm up cycle, and if you are calling for heat, that will extend it even longer.
it is a bit noisy, (high revving) but that's the nature of the design.

let it run for 15 seconds or so, and then drive. some say go easy until it is warm, some say it doesn't matter.
i'm a go easy on everything kind of guy.

all the best!

 

The way I understand it is, the Prius was originally designed for less pollution.
Cold engines pollute more than warm ones, so it wants to get warmed before it worries about mpgs.

 

The car will go easy on itself, even if you start driving right away when it lights READY. Unless you really tromp the go pedal, you will notice the car moves off under mostly electric and keeps the engine near idle until it is a bit warmed up. As it continues to warm up, the car will work it more and more into the balance of power. So there's really no special need for you to sit in one place for any length of time "warming it up".

I was once trapped in a very full parking garage where I had just seen someone walk up, get in a car, and start it, so I stopped to wait for that space. By the time I was still waiting and three or four more cars were backed up behind me, I meekly walked over to the idling car and asked if that space in the very full parking garage might become available in the foreseeable future, and was told "I'm just going to warm it up a few minutes here."

It was a Prius ....

 

^ What @ChapmanF said.

One thing you might notice: if you start it cold, and commence driving right away, the engine revs don’t vary as you accelerate. The engine is running at a steady fast idle, but it’s the hybrid battery that’s making it move, at least till it’s partially warmed up.

 

and then egr cleaning afterwards...

 

The above posters are right and I won't add to their wisdom, but I want to assure you we were all new once and that asking is a good way to find out what you are doing.

As you may notice in the above descriptions, the car tries hard not to hurt itself, so anything it does not object to, is fine. If you find yourself trying to out think or fool the car, then there is danger of damage. (Some here try to fool the thermostat, increase the horsepower, or defeat the traction control, etc. That way lies damage)

 

I used to think that, but that's not what mine does. It will increase as I drive faster, when it's cold.
I always try to use the EV mode only when I first start. But at 9 mph, the engine kicks in.
When I pick up speed, so does the engine. Doesn't matter how charged the battery is.

When it's belove 70 something, no EV, the engine starts in a few seconds. And I can hear the engine
rpm's increase when I drive faster. I have no gauge to tell how much, and it doesn't really matter to me.

As long as it work, I'm happy with how it works.

 

Yep, it's a learning curve and don't be afraid to ask folks here....very nice (for the most part) and non-judgy (for the most part!)

I remember when we got our first Prius, in 2017, which was my wife's car. We got the car in September and the weather was pretty cool for about a week. So I'm at work, and it was a hot day, and my wife called all frantic asking how the HECK do I turn on the air conditioner!! hehehe

I usually say, "Good morning, regenerative brake system!!" when I open the car door in the morning as it's making that familiar WIRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.