Ford Fairmont AU 2000 - auto trans

is there any benefit to using premium unleaded petrol vs standard unleaded?

other than the few extra kms...?

is it healthier for the engine overall?

Ofcourse. I was using normal unleaded for a few months in my old ed, changed the fuel filter and the fuel was dirty as hell. So in my ef xr8 i used bp ultamite, changed the filter and the fuel was almost new!

^^^ Not sure how that makes sense.. In a car tuned to run on std ulp you will only notice a difference in fuel economy as your wallet lightens from the premo juice.