KIA is expanding its Soul EV line up with the introduction of two specifications and a range of up to 280 miles or more than 400 in urban conditions.

A new Urban grade becomes the entry level model priced from £32,795 while Explore specification costs from £38,995.

Deliveries of the new cars will start later in the year.

The Urban model is fitted with a 39.2kWh battery pack giving it a range of 171 miles with an 80 per cent recharge time of 54 minutes from a fast charger.

Powered by a 134bhp motor with an automatic transmission it has a top speed of 97mph with a 0 to 62mph acceleration time of 9.9 seconds.

The Soul Explore has a larger 64kWh battery giving it a range of up to 280 miles or more than 400 miles in the city.

From a rapid charger it has the same 80 per cent charging time as the Soul Urban but has a top speed of 104mph and a 0 to 62mph acceleration time of 7.9 seconds with its motor developing some 201bhp.

Kia has added more SUV-like styling to the Explore model which comes with a 10.25-in touchscreen, rear parking sensors and automatic windscreen wipers among its standard features as well as blind spot, safe exit and rear traffic warning systems.

The Urban grade comes with full LED headlamps, an eight-inch touchscreen and seven-inch colour instrument cluster, auto headlights and forward collision monitors as well as lane keeping and lane following systems.

The Soul EV is the smallest of Kia UK's current three battery electric vehicle line-up, joined by the recently launched all-new Niro EV and the EV6 flagship.

In 2023, the production version of the EV9 will expand the trio and will become the largest battery electric vehicle yet in Kia's exciting plans to launch 14 EV models by 2027 globally.