Pinging & Fuel Octane

I bought my 2022 Base 6MT last summer and noticed pretty quickly that the engine would ping under load. That problem seemed to mostly abate with plus/premium fuel, but gas prices on the west coast had me back to regular pretty quick.

Over winter, I noticed no pinging with regular fuel and attributed the original problem to a break-in period, but as soon as warmer weather hit this spring, it was back to pinging. I've been alternating plus/premium since then (and seem to be getting better MPG), but part of the reason I bought this car was the low cost of ownership and premium fuel isn't cheap. Thinking of getting something else already.

Anyone else notice significant pinging or knocking with regular fuel in their 2.0?