Robust no-nonsense vehicle (3)
I believe the answer is:
bus
'vehicle' is the definition.
(bus is a kind of vehicle)
'robust no-nonsense' is the wordplay.
'no' suggests deleting specific letters.
'nonsense' becomes 'rot' (rot can mean nonsense or rubbish).
'robust' with 'rot' removed is 'BUS'.
(Other definitions for bus that I've seen before include "Public service vehicle" , "Charabanc" , "Large passenger vehicle - small business!" , "People carrier" , "Of projectiles; (go) mad (slang)" .)