Premium gasoline
The pricier petrol is almost certainly unnecessary. Even if your owner’s manual recommends premium gas, “the car will typically run on regular without issue and won’t damage the engine in any way,” according to Jason Kavanaugh and Peter Gareffa of Edmunds.com. They note that drivers used to buy premium now and then to “clean” their engines. But every formulation of today’s fuels has additives in place — no cleaning necessary.
The article has lists of “premium recommended” and “premium required” models, if you want to check. Or just read your owner’s manual — again, differentiating between recommended/required. Premium-recommended cars will do just fine if you drive moderately and avoid “acceleration with a wide-open throttle.” Unless you’re in a citizens’ racing league, that should be doable. So do it, and save some dough.