diff --git a/src/main/java/helma/scripting/rhino/RhinoCore.java b/src/main/java/helma/scripting/rhino/RhinoCore.java
index 36c69ad6..ab1fc57d 100644
--- a/src/main/java/helma/scripting/rhino/RhinoCore.java
+++ b/src/main/java/helma/scripting/rhino/RhinoCore.java
@@ -93,8 +93,8 @@ public final class RhinoCore implements ScopeProvider {
     // optimization level for rhino engine, ranges from -1 to 9
     int optLevel = 0;
 
-    // language version - default to JS 1.8
-    int languageVersion = 180;
+    // language version - default to ES6
+    int languageVersion = 200;
 
     // debugger/tracer flags
     boolean hasDebugger = false;