"It sure is tiny," said the wife, peering at the cutesy 2012 Fiat 500 Cabrio surrounded by all that extra driveway space.

"That it is," I said. "But it’s really big on character, yes?"

Tip to guys: This car’s a chick magnet. It’s like walking around campus with a beagle puppy.

Truth is, the Fiat 500 is loaded with personality. While not fast by any definition, it’s peppy enough — nimble and fun to drive. And it’s plenty roomy — well, at least up front — even for taller folks.

The 500 marks Fiat’s return to the U.S. This Italian classic was first introduced in 1957. It disappeared after a couple of decades and then was reinvented just a few years ago. Now, by no accident since Fiat bought Chrysler last year, it has wandered again into American territory.

It will seek out a niche here among other cuddly subcompacts like the Mini Cooper, Ford Fiesta, Mazda 2 and the new Chevy Sonic.

It’s not weird-small like the Smart Fortwo, but it’s shorter than the Mini by 6 inches, and narrower, too.

You might say it owns the word "adorable." It could be the VW Beetle’s funny little brother.

There are oodles of ways to personalize the 500, starting with an unusual color spectrum: Moche Latte, Espresso and Pistachio Green for starters. Too cute. The test car was Bianca Perla, which is pearl white. But with a red canvas roof and red-and-white interior, it was sharp.

No selection, however, when it comes to power: The 500 comes with one engine, a 1.4-liter four-cylinder. It puts out 101 hp and 98 pound-feet of torque. It comes up short on quickness but is spunky enough to have some fun on the road.

Maybe you just feel like you’re going faster because of its size. Zero-to-60 was timed at 10.8 seconds with the manual tranny. That’s slower than the BMW-engineered Mini Cooper, but closer to the others in the segment.

On the highway, it’s surprisingly smooth and confident riding. It’s downright agile on the corners, and around town you couldn’t ask for a better car for parking. It’s a cinch — turning radius is so tight it could practically bump into itself.

Steering is precise, especially when you press the Sport button. And the optional automatic shifts perfectly — so much so that I thought it was reading my mind. I had no need for the manual upshifting on the console.

EPA estimates fuel economy at 27 mpg city, and 32 on the highway. The manual will do better at 30 mpg city, 38 highway.

The Cabrio top is novel; it folds back accordian-style with the pull of a short lever. I couldn’t quite decide if this was a convertible or a panoramic sunroof as it stops at the end of the rear seat.

It’s a sunny idea around town. But the forecast gets worse when you get it over 40 mph; the opened canvas top falls victim to wind buffeting that can be annoying. You may want to consider keeping the top up on the highway.

Inside, there’s lots to like, including the aforementioned two-tone interior selections. There are several to choose from, but you are limited depending on the trim package. It’s probably no accident that the media vehicle was adorned inside in (Rosso) red and ivory, with a Bordeaux (red) canvas top. It looked smashing.

The white dash is unusually slick with flat, circular control pods, each one divided into pie slices to manipulate the audio and climate.

The automatic shifter is on the front console, and reaching forward feels like the ’60s British sports cars. A large speedometer surrounds the tach and info center in the middle.

Seats are comfortable, and headroom and legroom and wonderful for folks of all sizes up front. Head and leg room are tighter in the rear; trust me, you don’t want to be the carpool guy who gets the back seat.

The optional Bose sound system is decent enough but is not likely to dazzle anyone.

Storage is barely adequate; the cabin has enough nooks and crannies, but trunk space is a meager 6.5 feet. It’s still more than the Mini Cooper, though, and the seats do fold down to offer some extra space for soft bags.

On the road the 500 feels solid and gets stability and traction control as standard. Antilock brakes and seven air bags — side air bags and side curtains up front as well as driver-sided knee bags — are standard, too.

I can’t fathom anyone needing the rear-park assist with this tidbit of a car, but it’s there for the truly parking-challenged.

Two trim levels offered with the 500: Pop and Lounge. The Pop gets the worse wheels, 15-inch steelies, but gets AC, power windows/mirrors, cruise control and five-speed tranny if you like to shift.

The Lounge gets more civilized with leather seats, six-speed automatic transmission, power sunroof and a dash-mounted portable nav system. A Sport option gets the 16-inch aluminum wheels, a modest rear spoiler and red brake calipers.

So yes, dear, it is tiny. But so is the price, starting at around $16,000. And I thought size didn’t matter?

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2012 FIAT 500:

—Base price, base (Pop) model: $19,500 (before destination charge)

—Base price, Lounge model: $23,500

—As tested: $25,550 (with $1,250 leather package and premium paint and wheels)