Before ramble, daughter went by car (5)
I believe the answer is:
drove
'went by car' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'before ramble daughter' is the wordplay.
'before' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'ramble' becomes 'rove' ('rove' can be a synonym of 'ramble').
'daughter' becomes 'd'.
'rove' put after 'd' is 'DROVE'.
(Other definitions for drove that I've seen before include "Urged, flock on the move" , "Forced or operated a vehicle" , "took to the road" , "Number of cattle" , "Group of animals" .)