I dont' get much hesitation when cold - though I really baby it at first. However I can explain why you are instructed NOT to warm it up by idling- but rather to "drive off" right away.
The enemy of a cold engine, believe it or not, is NOT so much increased friction from thick oil. It is that below a certain temperature, there are acids produced as a byproduct of combustion that are not good to the metals in your engine. Once oeprating temperature has been reached, the chemical reactions diminish this acid production a great deal. So your goal is to let the engine warm up faster - by driving.
Now I still think you should be very gentle when the engine is cold - the metal-to-metal clearances are NOT the same as what they will be once warmed up. But the conventional wisdom (and owner's manual reccomendation) these days is to start 'er up and drive.
I learned this from a web site about automotive lubricants - fascinating - but I don't remember the URL. Might be able to search for it.....
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