A number of manufacturers have followed suit. Hyundai will release its hybrid in Australia in quarter four 2018.

The Ioniq I tested, like all Hyundai products is a high quality motor car and comes with a wad of luxury add-ons and safety technology including heated and ventilated seats, a heated steering wheel, satellite navigation and Apple Car Play/Android Auto as standard.

Driver assist technology is twenty first century, with autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, well done Hyundai, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert.

A rear view camera is supported by front and rear sensors.

The car drives via 1.6 litre four putting out 77Kw (103bhp), and a 32Kw (43bhp) electric motor for a total of 109Kw (146bhp).

I found the Ioniq a little underpowered. Fuel economy on my 1000ks test was 4.2l/100ks or 64 mpg.

The motors drive the front wheels via a 6 speed dual clutch auto with the sport manual over ride with paddle shifts. The gearbox is well matched to the motor.

Hyundai is going one up on competitors with the release of the Ioniq range that will include the standard hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric version. Covering all the bases.

A thing I didn’t like was the foot operated park brake, something I haven’t seen for many years. It’s clumsy and a little difficult to operate. Why not an electric park brake?

The Ioniq has Australian tuned suspension - a must for our lousy residenrtial roads. On the motorway it’s a great cruiser. It steers, brakes and handles well. Comfort levels are high.

The Ioniq gained a 5 star ANCAP rating in New Zealand in 2016. 

Pricing has not yet been announced.

Hyundai has met its aims with the Ioniq and built a quality hybrid car that will be more than competitive with its rivals.

The five year unlimited warranty is a marketing bonus. My rating 8.5/10

Congratulations to Lois of Old Bar and Mark of Forster who won the Joel Wakely Passion for Muscle Car books.

Motoring news locally every Saturday at 5am on 101.5 Great Lakes FM and 10am on 106.5 Rhema FM.

Also Sunday 2pm on 103.3 2TLP 2pm every Tuesday on 101.5 Great Lakes FM.

Road ramblings can also be heard worldwide on the web by going to www.roadrambs.com.

You can now find and listen to road ramblings on Facebook.