too much heat
 

Hi, this year I purchased a 2001 Tracker and am (mostly) happy with the performance of this car - however I think it seems to be running too hot - if I run for more than 1/2 an hour the hood is almost too hot to touch, I could cook on it. The engine heat indicator on the dash never goes up, though, and it doesn't "boil over".

Also, I get a lot of residual heat from the engine coming through into the passenger compartment through the console where the gear shift is - it's not unbearable, but just really adds a lot of unnecessary heat to the interior. That will be good in winter but not so welcome in August.

Any ideas? I saw another post that mentioned tricking the HVAC by turning it on, putting it on recirc, and then turning it off - but that doesn't seem to have any effect on my vehicle.