AN uprated Renault Kangoo electric van is about to be released giving it the longest range of any battery powered LCV.

The new Kangoo ZE will be on the road in November and has an official range of 170 miles on a single charge.

Renault says that its real-world limit will be around 124 miles.

Priced from £14,194 excluding VAT and with the Government's plug-in van grant, the new Kangoo comes in four body styles ranging from a standard van with a 3.6 cubic metre load bay to a crew van that can carry five people.

The range tops out at £16,778 if users opt to lease the battery pack which costs up to £81 per month with an annual limit of 10,500 miles.

Outright ownership adds £3,547 to the price.

The new electric Kangoo uses Renault's ZE 33 battery which has almost double the capacity of the previous version and an uprated motor which delivers the equivalent of 60bhp.

It can also be fitted with air conditioning and a heat pump - a £965 option - which improves cold weather operations.

Downtime has been reduced to six hours for a full charge with the ability to boost the vehicle in an hour to give 21 miles usage.

As an electric vehicle, the Kangoo ZE is congestion charge exempt, will be able to operate in ultra low emission zones, is tax free and attracts a 100 per cent write-down allowance.

Performance figures for all variants are 0 to 60 in 22.3 seconds with a top speed of 81mph.