diff --git a/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/Kconfig.board b/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/Kconfig.board
index 43a0b1ce76e..8c517c88dc0 100644
--- a/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/Kconfig.board
+++ b/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/Kconfig.board
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ config BOARD_QEMU_XTENSA
 	depends on SOC_XTENSA_SAMPLE_CONTROLLER
 	select QEMU_TARGET
 
-config BOARD_QEMU_XTENSA_DC233C
-	bool "Xtensa emulation using QEMU (dc233c core)"
+config BOARD_QEMU_XTENSA_MMU
+	bool "Xtensa emulation using QEMU with MMU"
 	depends on SOC_XTENSA_DC233C
 	select QEMU_TARGET
+	select XTENSA_MMU
diff --git a/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/Kconfig.defconfig b/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/Kconfig.defconfig
index fdd0daec484..a6beed9151c 100644
--- a/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/Kconfig.defconfig
+++ b/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/Kconfig.defconfig
@@ -14,13 +14,13 @@ config IPM_CONSOLE_STACK_SIZE
 
 endif # BOARD_QEMU_XTENSA
 
-if BOARD_QEMU_XTENSA_DC233C
+if BOARD_QEMU_XTENSA_MMU
 
 config BUILD_OUTPUT_BIN
 	default n
 
 config BOARD
-	default "qemu_xtensa_dc233c"
+	default "qemu_xtensa_mmu"
 
 config IPM_CONSOLE_STACK_SIZE
 	default 2048 if IPM_CONSOLE_RECEIVER
diff --git a/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/board.cmake b/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/board.cmake
index 0dc60dfc7f4..7d6997c702c 100644
--- a/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/board.cmake
+++ b/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/board.cmake
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ if(CONFIG_BOARD_QEMU_XTENSA)
   set(QEMU_FLAGS_${ARCH}
     -machine sim -semihosting -nographic -cpu sample_controller
   )
-elseif(CONFIG_BOARD_QEMU_XTENSA_DC233C)
+elseif(CONFIG_BOARD_QEMU_XTENSA_MMU)
   set(QEMU_CPU_TYPE_${ARCH} dc233c)
 
   set(QEMU_FLAGS_${ARCH}
diff --git a/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_dc233c.dts b/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_mmu.dts
similarity index 89%
rename from boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_dc233c.dts
rename to boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_mmu.dts
index 1af6545d8bc..8ed0eb6dbdb 100644
--- a/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_dc233c.dts
+++ b/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_mmu.dts
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 #include "dc233c.dtsi"
 
 / {
-	model = "qemu_xtensa_dc233c";
+	model = "qemu_xtensa_mmu";
 	compatible = "cdns,xtensa-dc233c";
 
 	chosen {
diff --git a/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_dc233c.yaml b/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_mmu.yaml
similarity index 54%
rename from boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_dc233c.yaml
rename to boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_mmu.yaml
index 9a0b11a955e..aa2ef7692d4 100644
--- a/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_dc233c.yaml
+++ b/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_mmu.yaml
@@ -1,11 +1,13 @@
-identifier: qemu_xtensa_dc233c
-name: QEMU Emulation for Xtensa (dc233c core)
+identifier: qemu_xtensa_mmu
+name: QEMU Emulation for Xtensa with MMU
 type: qemu
 simulation: qemu
 arch: xtensa
 toolchain:
+  - zephyr
   - xtools
 testing:
+  default: true
   ignore_tags:
     - net
     - bluetooth
diff --git a/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_dc233c_defconfig b/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_mmu_defconfig
similarity index 89%
rename from boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_dc233c_defconfig
rename to boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_mmu_defconfig
index 9be7283e74e..6587737bd88 100644
--- a/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_dc233c_defconfig
+++ b/boards/xtensa/qemu_xtensa/qemu_xtensa_mmu_defconfig
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
 CONFIG_MAIN_STACK_SIZE=2048
-CONFIG_BOARD_QEMU_XTENSA_DC233C=y
+CONFIG_BOARD_QEMU_XTENSA_MMU=y
 CONFIG_CONSOLE=y
 CONFIG_SOC_XTENSA_DC233C=y
 CONFIG_SYS_CLOCK_HW_CYCLES_PER_SEC=10000000
diff --git a/soc/xtensa/dc233c/Kconfig.soc b/soc/xtensa/dc233c/Kconfig.soc
index cf846b82839..89b814da4d2 100644
--- a/soc/xtensa/dc233c/Kconfig.soc
+++ b/soc/xtensa/dc233c/Kconfig.soc
@@ -8,5 +8,4 @@ config SOC_XTENSA_DC233C
 	select XTENSA_HAL
 	select ARCH_HAS_THREAD_LOCAL_STORAGE
 	select CPU_HAS_MMU
-	imply XTENSA_MMU
 	select ARCH_HAS_RESERVED_PAGE_FRAMES if XTENSA_MMU