My Infiniti takes premium. One time my wife forgot and put regular in, and the check engine light came on shortly thereafter. The light went off about a week later, and I can’t be sure it’s related. A mechanic told me it might be. I didn’t hear any knocking, but performance did seem down a little, which could have been psychological.
Wouldn’t it advance the timing? To make up for the earlier ignition?
Ford bought Volvo in mid 1998, the 1999 models were already out. There is no way that Ford had any influence on a a 2002 car due to the lead times involved in automotive manufacturing.
As Balthisar said Ford pretty much lets Volvo do its thing.
Concerning the car in question. If you were looking for a turbo engine, I would shop for an 02 or later. for the non-turbo engine, I would shop for an 03 or later car. The reason is the engine management systems underwent a revision in 02 and 03. The later version is superior.
I’m not sure where you live, but if you can find an 03 or later California spec non-turbo (what is called market code 31 inside Volvo, and only sold new in California and several Northeastern states) it comes with a 15 year/ 150,000 emissions warranty. The warranty is transferable to a second (third) owner, and could save you serious bucks in the event of a emissions problem. It does not cover the full car, just emissions items. But hey it is for 150,000 miles.
I own and drive a 05 non turbo with the long warranty. I have not quite 30,000 miles on it and all that has been done to the car is routine service. I get what I consider excellent fuel mileage (25 city/32-33 Highway)