HYUNDAI has big plans for turning its line-up green, with the company announcing that it will have 38 eco models on offer globally by 2025.

For Hyundai, that means a mix of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, fully electric and hydrogen fuel-cell EVs. First up in Australia is the Ioniq – Hyundai’s answer to the Toyota Prius.

However, while Toyota sells both hybrid and PHEV versions of the Prius (the latter in overseas markets), Hyundai will also offer a full EV version of its Ioniq when it rolls out all three variants for a full retail launch in the third quarter of this year.

Until then, Hyundai has decided to do a ‘soft launch’ for the Ioniq Hybrid and has rolled out about 70 examples to some if its key fleet operators in Australia for evaluation.

GoAuto spent the weekend with the Ioniq Hybrid in top-spec Premium guise to see whether Hyundai has the chops to knock Toyota off its hybrid perch.