The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released its model year 2027 selection list for the New Car Assessment Program’s 5-Star Safety Ratings. The October 15 announcement identifies 23 vehicles for crash testing, 18 for pedestrian-protection verification, and 10 for advanced driver-assistance testing.
What the selected vehicles will face
The crash program covers frontal, side, and rollover tests. NHTSA says the ratings will cover 87 percent of all new vehicles. The pedestrian assessment evaluates protection for a person struck by a vehicle, while the driver-assistance program checks five systems: automatic emergency braking, pedestrian automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist, blind spot warning, and blind spot intervention.
Some models appear in more than one testing group. The BMW X5, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Hyundai Elantra, Jeep Cherokee, Kia Telluride, Tesla Model 3, Toyota Sienna Hybrid, and Volkswagen Atlas appear on the crash and ADAS selections. The pedestrian list includes models such as the Acura MDX, Ford Explorer Gas, Kia EV3, Mazda CX-50, Subaru Outback, Toyota Prius, and Volkswagen Atlas.
A selection is not a safety score
The list tells readers which vehicles NHTSA plans to evaluate. It does not report the results, and it does not mean a selected model has passed or failed. The agency says performance assessments will appear on its ratings site after testing and data quality checks are complete. A vehicle window sticker may also show its five-star crash ratings once available.
That timing matters for shoppers comparing new models. A selection list can help a buyer see which products are scheduled for testing, but the final ratings are the useful comparison. If a result is not yet posted, do not treat the absence of a score as a safety judgment.
How to use the ratings when they arrive
Start with the exact model year and body style. Ratings can differ across model years and sometimes across versions of a vehicle. Review crash protection separately from driver-assistance results. A car’s automatic braking performance does not describe its occupant protection in a crash, and a strong crash score does not show how every assistance system behaves in all weather or road conditions.
Then consider the equipment on the trim you would actually buy. Driver-assistance features may be standard, optional, or unavailable depending on the model and package. Read the manufacturer’s specifications and owner information before assuming that a tested system is fitted to every version.
How this relates to pedestrian protection
NHTSA released its first pedestrian-protection results for model year 2027 earlier in September. That announcement reported 102 models from 10 manufacturers meeting the agency’s new performance criteria. The October list identifies a separate selection of vehicles for verification testing. The two updates reflect different parts of the same broader rating program, so shoppers should read each model’s individual page rather than infer a result from a headline or list.
Auto Fieldbook’s Auto News coverage follows the release of the results. Check NHTSA’s 5-Star Safety Ratings page before making a final comparison.
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