Appearance

• The Hayward Navigator is mostly white, with an off-white cover. It also features a clear tube at the top that receives the tube. The moving tracks are clearly visible under the machine. The cleaner has Hayward Navigator written in red on the front. The Pool Vac Ultra has an exterior that is somewhat white, with blue in the middle and a gray top. The tracks are a bit more concealed on the bottom, and the words "pool VAC ultra" are written in gray and blue on the side. The Pool Vac Ultra also has a clear tube on top.
  
  

Programmed Steering

• The Hayward Navigator "features the exclusive SmartDrive programmed steering," according to the Hayward website. Hayward claims that this automatic programmed steering system will clean an average pool in three to four hours. SmartDrive uses the flow of water through the filters to drive the cleaner in a series of left and right turns. The Pool Vac Ultra, on the other hand, uses AquaPilot programmed steering; however, despite the different name, it works in the same way as the SmartDrive programming.
  
  

Purpose

• Both the Navigator and the Pool Vac Ultra are made for in-ground residential pools. These pools can have surfaces made from vinyl, fiberglass, gunite or tile. These Hayward cleaners are made to cover the entire floor of a pool, unlike other cleaners that will randomly travel the floor of a pool and clean where they happen to hit.
  
  

Accessories

• Hayward does not advertise optional accessories for the Navigator cleaner. The Pool Vac Ultra features optional accessories like the Hayward Skimmer Vac Plate, which "automatically alternates between skimming the pool's surface and vacuuming with each cycle of the filtration system's time clock," according to the Hayward website. Another accessory buyers can purchase is the Hayward Leaf Canister, which connects between two cleaner hoses in order to trap leaves and debris and prevent blocking of the pool's filter system.