Land Rover Defender L316 110 XS 2.2 TDCi

The 2012 Land Rover Defender 110 XS 2.2 TDCi is one of the last classic-shape Defenders, with a separate ladder chassis, live axles, permanent four-wheel drive and the later 2.2-litre Puma diesel. For the UK 2012 model year, Land Rover's own price list now makes something else clear too: 110 XS was not one single body specification.

Land Rover listed an XS Station Wagon, XS Utility Wagon and XS Double Cab. Body type changes seating, dimensions and some equipment, while the badge on the wing may simply say XS.

A period factory price list and Land Rover's 2012 brochure also let us separate real XS specification from the accessories and later modifications accumulated by individual cars such as TMJC-associated OV12EXO.

2012 Defender 110 XS: the UK factory range

Land Rover's 2012 Model Year Price List – December 2011 states that its prices were effective from December 2011, for the 2012 model year and for UK use only. It lists three 110 XS derivatives:

The feature matrix uses slightly different shorthand for the middle version: XS SW UT, expanded as XS Specification Station Wagon with Utility Pack. The cover price table calls it XS Utility Wagon. Used adverts can therefore use Utility, Utility Wagon and Station Wagon with Utility Pack somewhat loosely.

If a seller says only 2012 Defender 110 XS, the next question should therefore be which factory body/order form?

What did XS include in the UK for 2012?

The same Land Rover matrix resolves several details that are often reconstructed from used adverts. Across the three listed 110 XS columns, it marks the following as standard:

• ABS and Electronic Traction Control;
• air conditioning;
• carpet floor trim;
• part-leather seats;
• cubby box;
• single-slot CD/radio with MP3/AUX and dash-mounted tweeters;
• Convenience Pack, defined as electric front windows and remote central locking.

The seating rows are especially useful. The XS Station Wagon column marks seven seats as standard, while XS Utility Wagon and XS Double Cab mark five seats as standard and do not show a seven-seat configuration. Land Rover's broader 2012 brochure describes a third row as optional for 110 Station Wagon generally, but the UK price list is more specific to the XS trim. A used advert saying only 110 XS therefore still does not tell you the body form.

There are still limits to what the price list proves. A historical car may have factory options, dealer accessories or later changes. Build/VIN evidence remains the best way to establish one vehicle's exact original configuration.

2.2 Puma engine and drivetrain specification

Land Rover publication LRML 3961/12 provides the late Defender's 2.2-litre technical data directly:

Jaguar Land Rover Classic Parts independently describes the application as 2.2l 16v Tc I4 Dsl 122ps Puma within its Defender 2007–2016 L316 catalogue.

The 2.2 arrived for the 2012 model year as the Euro 5 replacement for the earlier 2.4-litre Puma unit. The significant change was emissions compliance rather than a headline power increase: the quoted 122 PS and 360 Nm remained in the same territory as the outgoing engine.

How fast was a 2012 Defender 110 2.2?

Land Rover's 2012 brochure gives the 110 a 90 mph (145 km/h) maximum speed, 0–60 mph in 14.7 seconds and 0–100 km/h in 15.8 seconds.

Treat those as factory-era reference figures. A modified twenty-first-century example with different tyres, gearing behaviour, ECU software, intercooler or added weight should not be expected to reproduce brochure performance exactly.

The brochure also quotes 295 g/km CO₂ and a 75-litre tank for the 110. Those numbers belong to the factory-era test/specification, not a promise about fuel use from an individual modified vehicle.

A 110 does not have one body length

Land Rover gives the classic 110 a 2,794 mm wheelbase. The name is historical rather than a precise conversion of that metric figure.

More importantly for identification, overall length varies by body:

• Station Wagon / Utility Wagon / Hard Top: 4,785 mm;
• Double Cab: 4,578 mm;
• High Capacity Pick Up: 4,773 mm.

Overall width is quoted at 1,790 mm. That is why no single overall length or door count safely describes every 110 XS 2.2.

Land Rover also gives the 110 a 3,500 kg braked trailer limit and 750 kg unbraked limit in the 2012 brochure. As with any older working vehicle, the fact that a Defender had substantial towing capability is a reason to inspect its history rather than an accusation that it was abused.

OV12EXO: what a replacement engine does and does not change

TMJC-associated OV12EXO is a useful example of why an old Defender needs more than a specification table.

Its archived advert showed 127,400 miles and described a Land Rover warranty replacement of the engine, clutch and associated components at 58,112 miles, specifically mentioning the turbo and injectors. If those mileages are supported by the paperwork, the replacement engine had accumulated roughly 69,000 miles of in-car use by the advertised odometer reading.

But the Defender itself remained a 127,400-mile vehicle.

Used-car descriptions regularly blur those two mileages. A useful history file should keep separate timelines for:

• chassis, body and overall vehicle use;
• replacement engine installation and later mileage;
• clutch replacement;
• turbo and injector replacement;
• transfer case, axles and propshafts where work is separately documented;
• suspension and braking work;
• later ECU or induction changes.

Engine replaced at 58,112 miles can be a precise and useful statement. Everything underneath has only done 69,000 miles needs substantially more evidence.

For the registration and provenance side of that history, the replacement-engine V5C guide explains what to verify after an engine change and why replacement-engine use should stay separate from whole-vehicle mileage.

The recovered XS matrix also helps interpret OV12EXO

The seller described OV12EXO with part-leather trim, air conditioning, electric front windows and remote central locking. Those are no longer merely features seen in one advert: the December 2011 Land Rover UK matrix shows part leather, A/C and the electric-window/remote-locking Convenience Pack as standard across its 110 XS columns.

That does not prove every other item on the car is original. The advert also described later accessories and performance modifications, so the right question is not simply does it look like an XS? but which parts match the factory order and which arrived later?

For the exact body type and any less obvious original options, the VIN/build record is still better evidence than a photograph or registration date.

Factory equipment, options and later accessories are different things

OV12EXO's seller described a later Stage 2 remap and uprated intercooler, plus Twisted-branded wheels, roof rack, ladder, snorkel top and front bar.

Those additions may be useful or desirable to an individual owner, but they are not evidence of standard 2012 XS specification.

For a modified Puma Defender, ask:

• who supplied the ECU calibration and when;
• whether the original software can be restored;
• whether there is an invoice or stated target specification;
• what intercooler, intake or exhaust hardware changed with it;
• whether the clutch or drivetrain was changed before or after the remap;
• whether the modification was declared to the insurer;
• what servicing took place after the tune.

A documented modified car can be easier to understand than a supposedly standard one with unknown software. Provenance is the important part.

Inspect the Defender before the accessories

The classic Defender combines aluminium body panels with a mild-steel ladder chassis and steel bulkhead. A smart rack, expensive wheels and fresh paint do not outweigh poor structure.

On a 110, inspect at least:

• rear crossmember, including its inside and any recent cosmetic covering;
• chassis rails and repair/weld quality;
• outriggers and suspension mounts;
• bulkhead lower corners, windscreen/vent region and footwells;
• door pillars, steel door frames and hinges;
• corrosion and oxidation around mixed-metal joints and fixings.

Fresh underseal is not proof of sound metal. Ask when it was applied and whether photographs exist from before treatment.

If the chassis has been replaced, the paperwork matters as much as the galvanising. The Defender replacement-chassis guide explains the current DVLA/VIN/V5C evidence trail in more detail.

2.2 Puma mechanical checks

Try to see a cold start. Watch for warning lights, abnormal smoke, uneven running or signs that the vehicle was warmed before arrival.

For the emissions-system side, the Defender 2.2 DPF guide separates normal regeneration from warning-light escalation and sets out the evidence worth checking on a remapped or uncertain car.

Then assess systems rather than chasing one famous forum fault:

• verify oil/filter service history and coolant condition;
• inspect turbo and intercooler pipework, especially where non-standard hardware is fitted;
• establish any EGR or DPF repair/removal history and warning-light history;
• check clutch take-up and listen for flywheel or driveline vibration;
• use all six gears and assess shift quality;
• listen to transfer case, differentials and propshafts on and off load;
• inspect steering play, swivel areas, suspension bushes and dampers;
• test brakes and handbrake operation;
• test the factory equipment the XS price list says should be present, including A/C, electric windows, remote locking and audio.

The factory towing figure is 3.5 tonnes braked, so evidence of regular towing should prompt closer attention to clutch, driveline, rear chassis and suspension history rather than an automatic rejection.

What should the service history show?

Land Rover's own service portfolio gives a useful baseline for a UK 2012 Defender. Its 11 Model Year onwards UK plan puts Defender routine servicing on an alternating A/B sequence at 12,000 miles / 20,000 km or 12 months, whichever comes first. In other words, time matters even when an old Defender covers little annual mileage.

The same factory document gives two separate fluid intervals for Defender:

• brake fluid: 24,000 miles / 40,000 km or two years, whichever is sooner;
• engine coolant: every ten years regardless of distance.

That does not mean every invoice should contain the same list of operations. Land Rover says the precise service content changes with model, age, mileage and whether arduous-use servicing applies, with the detailed work set out on the Maintenance Check Sheet.

For a used 110, the arduous-use wording is particularly relevant. Land Rover includes frequent rough or muddy-road use, wading, mountainous driving, trailer towing and road-salt exposure among conditions that can require more frequent attention. A Defender advertised as having spent its life towing, working off road or regularly wading therefore deserves a service-history check that goes beyond counting annual stamps.

A useful file should let you reconcile dates and odometer readings with the A/B sequence, identify separate brake-fluid and coolant work, and show extra maintenance where the car's use justified it. Stamped dates, mileages and invoices are stronger evidence than the seller phrase “fully serviced”.

Documents worth seeing before buying

For a 2012 110 XS 2.2, a strong file should let you answer:

1. Which 110 XS derivative is it? Station Wagon, Utility/Utility Pack or Double Cab?
2. What does the VIN/build record say about original body, trim and options?
3. Is the engine original? If not, what was fitted, when and at what mileage?
4. Which clutch, turbo, injector or fuel-system parts changed at the same time?
5. Has the chassis or bulkhead been replaced or substantially repaired?
6. Is the ECU standard? If not, who mapped it and what hardware supports the map?
7. Which visible parts are factory, dealer accessory or later aftermarket additions?
8. Can major invoices be reconciled to MOT and odometer history?
9. Is there photographic evidence beneath current underseal, chequer plate or accessories?
10. Has the vehicle done sustained towing or off-road work, and what maintenance followed?

The best answer is not necessarily everything is original. It is a coherent history in which the major claims can be traced back to documents and the physical car.

Where the 110 XS 2.2 fits in the Defender range

For broader 2007–2016 context and the 2.4-to-2.2 transition, see Defender L316.

For the full naming story—Series lineage, Ninety/One Ten, the 1990 Defender name and later 90/110/130 usage—see Land Rover Defender.

Sources and further reading

• Land Rover — Replacement Service Portfolio, 11 Model Year onwards (TOPIx)
• Land Rover — Defender 2012 Model Year Price List, December 2011 (archived PDF)
• Land Rover — Defender brochure, publication LRML 3961/12 (archived PDF)
• Jaguar Land Rover Classic Parts — Defender 2007–2016 (L316)
• Jaguar Land Rover Classic Parts — 2.2-litre 122 PS Puma application
• PistonHeads — Land Rover Defender used buying guide
• The Matt Johnston Collection via Car & Classic — OV12EXO historical advert