Well while changing my rear brakes on my car for the first time. I noticed that the spring and the strut were not one assembly as I am used to seeing on older Honda cars. The strut was in the normal position, but the shock was directly connected to the frame on it's own. I am confused as to why they would go this route? In addition, what is this particular setup called?

 

It's just a multi-link independent with a separate shock and spring. It's quite common on FWD cars as the GTI and Focus ST use similar designs.