diff --git a/bin/nuxt b/bin/nuxt
index c9d6ff3a20e5..6ee6be6fc9b1 100755
--- a/bin/nuxt
+++ b/bin/nuxt
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
 const { join } = require('path')
-const semver = require('semver')
+
 const consola = require('consola')
-const { name, engines } = require('../package.json')
 
 // Global error handler
 process.on('unhandledRejection', _error => {
@@ -19,14 +18,6 @@ consola.add({
   }
 })
 
-if (!semver.satisfies(process.version, engines.node)) {
-  consola.fatal(
-    `The engine "node" is incompatible with ${name}. Expected version "${
-      engines.node
-    }".`
-  )
-}
-
 const defaultCommand = 'dev'
 const commands = new Set([defaultCommand, 'init', 'build', 'start', 'generate'])
 
diff --git a/index.js b/index.js
index 8ed6e1550f44..1cb754a108e5 100644
--- a/index.js
+++ b/index.js
@@ -7,9 +7,17 @@
 
 const fs = require('fs')
 const path = require('path')
+const semver = require('semver')
 
-if (fs.existsSync(path.resolve(__dirname, '.babelrc'))) {
+const { engines } = require('./package.json')
+
+if (!semver.satisfies(process.version, engines.node)) {
+  // Auto fallback to legacy build on older node versions
+  module.exports = require('./dist/nuxt-legacy.js')
+} else if (fs.existsSync(path.resolve(__dirname, '.babelrc'))) {
+  // Use esm version when using linked repository to prevent builds
   module.exports = require('./lib/index.js')
 } else {
+  // Use production bundle by default
   module.exports = require('./dist/nuxt.js')
 }
diff --git a/lib/nuxt-legacy.js b/lib/nuxt-legacy.js
index c84cadf68454..fda35233d2de 100644
--- a/lib/nuxt-legacy.js
+++ b/lib/nuxt-legacy.js
@@ -1,7 +1,11 @@
 import 'babel-polyfill'
 
+import consola from 'consola'
+
 import core from './core'
 import builder from './builder'
 import * as Utils from './common/utils'
 
+consola.warn('You are using legacy build of Nuxt. Please consider upgrading your Node.js version to 8.x or later.')
+
 export default Object.assign({ Utils }, core, builder)