2017 Nissan “Final Frontier” Worker Truck: Fully-Loaded Ike Gauntlet Review [Video]

2017 Nissan “Final Frontier” on the Ike Gauntlet

This is the fourth episode in our 2017 Nissan “Final Frontier” series. This time Roman and Andre are going live from the Ike Gauntlet, world’s toughest truck test. The Ike Gauntlet is an 8-mile stretch of I-70 from Dillon, CO at around 9,000 feet of elevation and all the way to the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial tunnels at 11,158 feet above sea level. It’s 7% grade and most trucks struggle just to maintain speed when fully loaded with payload and/or trailer.

Will the little four-banger make it up the mountain in a reasonable time?

We are in a 2017 Frontier S King Cab 2WD “worker truck”. It’s powered by a 2.5L four-cylinder with 152 horsepower and 171 lb-ft of torque. We are happy to have a 5-speed manual transmission. We are hauling a Kawasaki 300 ATV. Maximum payload rating of this worker truck is 931 pounds. We are just a pinch above that with the two of us and some camera gear.

The Nissan Frontier is currently the most affordable pickup truck you can purchase new in the U.S. It starts at $18,390 and our model has a final price of $20,730, including destination fees.

You asked us for base truck reviews, and we are happy to have this Frontier as our newest long-term pickup truck. We will have it for around six months, and we will be doing a lot of work and more reviews with it.

Andre Smirnov
Andre Smirnov is an Automotive Enthusiast, Producer, Reviewer, Videographer, Writer, Software Engineer, Husband, Father, and Friend.