It would be a hard line to draw what "class" a vehicle falls into when deviding registration. Should it be cc's, should it be cylinders, should it be CO2 emissions, power to weight? (similar issues for P plated drivers in NSW not being able to drive V8 or Turbo/Supercharged cars regardless of what they actually are... a good example being the Dihatsu Copen which sports a "powerful" 698cc TURBO! putting it in the can't drive class for P platers).
Picking number of cylinders was most likely the easiest solution at the time. While I'm not saying it's right or wrong, where do you draw the line in a way to please everyone. If you allow leeway for "negotiation" there will always be a minority that screw the system, at least this way it's cut and dry.
It can be argued that revamping the system by using a breakup based on CC's would make sense in this case, but reality would most likely be that most vehicles will fit in similar categories based on number of cylinders. That and you need to remember that any change to the way things are calculated would come at a massive cost to set up the system to handle it. There would need to be massive outcry (or extra potential $$ in the RTA (or QLD equivalent) to make it viable.
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