Personally I think nothing is wrong with your engine, but if you desperately want the needle halfway up, bend the damn thing.
My engine is always around the third dot.
See it from the bright side, at least you have enough reserve, due to the tempgauge , I wouldn't trust it though.
THE best method to check if the engine isn't too cold is adding an oiltemp gauge, but that would ruin the interior for some guys, don't know if you fall into this category.
If your not sure drive the car until it is on the third dot for about 5 minutes, then try to grab the waterhoses close to the cylinderhead, if you can't hold it for let's say 5 minutes, the engine is ok.
I also have one car where the temperature gauge stays close to zero, it went back on again when I repaired the aircon.