Our 2^nd blog entry for the New Year is a 2004 Lexus IS300 SportCross owned by my friend, Tristin. During an IG chat, I brought up the idea to Tristin about having his IS300 SportCross featured on the AVANTTUROUS blog, and he was excited to be a part of it. The only obstacle was he’s located in Florida and I’m in California. Luckily, Tristin is a fellow photographer and always has his camera handy. I must give credit where credit is due: these images you are about to see were taken and edited by Tristin. (Check out  his Instagram portfolio at: “topnightmedia”)

Tristin’s wagon started its life in silver color, which was then wrapped in bright yellow vinyl. Satisfied with the color choice, Tristin decided to take it a step further by painting the car in similar yellow shade. Full Altezza Gita kit and Ganador mirrors were added to finish off the exterior of this wagon. “BANANA BOAT” is the nickname that was given to this wagon.  And to keep it real to its nickname, a banana neon light was added to the interior of the wagon (definitely an eye catcher!).

The wagon was originally sporting a set of black Gramlights 57DR. While yellow and black may be a classy combo, Tristin wanted something with more BLING. Advan RG2 wheels in triple chrome finish were selected to accomplish the desired looks. The result is what you see here…I think it’s perfection on wheels! Yellow works so well with the triple chrome wheels.

Enjoy the photos! I hope you get the same kick as I did after seeing Tristin’s awesome Banana NEON!

Introduce Yourself: 

My name is Tristin Monborne, I’m a 23-year-old photographer, writer, and graphic artist. I grew up in central Florida, where I was surrounded by the space industry, old-school Volkswagens and surfing so naturally it was only right that I fell in love with other old school JDM cars as well 😂. (Wagons especially)

WHY A WAGON?

As I said earlier, I grew up with a strong background in surfing. Being on the beach it was just very practical to have a wagon. Being able to fit all my camera gear and surfboard from time to time made having an already cool car that much cooler. My love of JDM cars turned into a Toyota love affair after I picked up my first car which was a Manual 96 SC300. I ended up selling that car for something more practical, so I began looking into sedans and wagons, but wanted something fun too. The first time I saw an IS300 in a SportCross variant it was immediate affection. I still have the picture saved on my phone to this day of the first one I ever saw. It was parked outside my uncle’s house in Virginia, and I told myself that was it. That was the car I wanted to build. 

Did you consider a different WAGON instead of this one?

Recently, I’ve picked up a Honda Fit to daily and that has opened my eyes to the Honda world once again. I would love to own a Honda Orthia with an EK front swap and a nice K series. If not that, then definitely a Toyota Crown Athlete or first gen Nissan Stagea.

What was your original objective with your car and has that objective changed?

The original goal for the car was to be a fun daily driver that could look nice and perform in whatever way I wanted it to reliably. A car that I wouldn’t worry about taking across the country If I chose to do so. The car was always built to be a driver, and as much as I like to keep it pristine and clean, I think enjoying the car for what it is designed to do is more important than overall perfection. Now that the car is not my daily driver, that goal is still the same, but I definitely want to make a little bit more power with a 1JZ/1.5JZ swap in the near future. 

What style would you say best describes your car?

Funny enough, me, and my friends joke about this car, being known as the “style car” and I think honestly is just that. It has a lot of character that comes from my own tastes and experience. I would ultimately say that it’s a very simple street car, with a little bit of 2000s Japanese drift flair thrown in. There is a lot of European influence throughout as well, and I think that gave me the direction of a more OEM+ style for sure. 

Who assisted in the planning/building/modding of your car?

The plan for the car was something I’ve always had for myself. As soon as I picked it up, I already had a vision for what I wanted this car to be. Not to say I haven’t had good people motivate me and push me towards this goal because I have so many people to thank for helping me research and help me put it together. Countless shops and late nights in my garage alike. It’s introduced me to so many of my current friends, and I am so grateful that it has. 

What do you feel makes your car unique/special in your eyes?

Honestly, I don’t think my car is that special. It’s a very simple recipe of street car/daily driver and I take pride in that fact. I think people see it differently because it is yellow and a wagon which is rare for these cars, but other than that it is simple. I think the car has a lot of my own personality and that makes it unique, but I think everyone should put a little personality in whatever their building. Make it your own you know?

What is your favorite part/feature/function of the car?

My favorite function of the car of course is the hatch, but if I had to choose one thing that is unique to this car it is definitely the folding front passenger seat. I’ve had dozens of people try to buy that off me and I swore I would never sell it.

If you could pick one thing you aren’t satisfied with about your car, what would it be?

Oh, there’s a lot I could pick from. The car is very road oriented and does get driven hard and often. I think the biggest thing that I want to touch up on the car in the near future is the paint and body work. I would love to do that 1JZ/1.5JZ swap in the future because as much as I like the N/A 2JZ reliability, more power would be great.

What has been the biggest obstacle you’ve faced while building this car?

In all honesty, this car has been very good to me. The only obstacle I really faced in building It was blowing my motor up in late 2019. Without that though, I wouldn’t have been able to do the manual drivetrain swap and touch up a lot of maintenance that really needed to be addressed on the car. Despite hurting my wallet. 

What one word best describes your car?

Honestly, I’ve never thought about that before. I think my car has a lot of different traits and qualities, but I would have to say the one word is passion. I think this car is a representation of me and the pure passion that has gone into owning, driving, building, and enjoying it from every step of the way. Everything I ever did for this car was out of pure passion, and I think this car perfectly represents that.

What is your final goal with this car?The final goal for the car is not much farther off than what it is now. I love the ability for this car to just be comfortable and reliable, but still do everything that I ask it to do. Of course, adding some more power in the future and beefing up drivetrain components, but realistically other than that, it’s just paint and refreshing the chassis as much as I can. Keeping the car on the road and enjoying every second of driving it.