We find all the petrol pumps offering premium petrol in addition to the normal unleaded petrol. These are priced a few rupees more and the claim is that these are better and is good for the car. These are supposed to be higher octane and some special additives.
Octane grades do not represent “good, better, best”. They just are a measure of the fuel’s resistance to pre-ignition (commonly known as knocking); a condition in which the fuel burns uncontrollably in the engine’s combustion chambers.
Most of the modern cars use electronic ignition and these can detect pre-ignition and automatically make adjustments to eliminate it.
So unless your car owner’s manual recommends premium petrol, paying high for the premium petrol does not provide any benefits for the higher amount you pay. Check your owners manual or the fuel tank cover for the recommended grade of petrol. If it says to use regular, use regular. If it says “premium recommended” you may try regular and check the performance. Only when it mandates use of premium, use
premium.
Source: Consumer reports, USA
